False beef claims from Snow Brand
tonnes of Australian beef was Japanese when it made a 280-tonne
sale to a government-subsidised industry group.
Snow Brand Food Co Ltd said on Wednesday it falsely claimed 13.8 tonnes of Australian beef was Japanese when it made a 280-tonne sale to a government-subsidised industry group.
The industry group organised the purchase as part of a government effort to alleviate a slowdown in beef sales following an outbreak of mad cow disease in Japan last September.
An internal report by the firm showed that employees had stuffed Australian beef into boxes marked for Japanese beef last October, Shozo Yoshida, president of the Snow Brand Milk Products Co Ltd unit, told a news conference.
"This matter does not concern our parent company, Snow Brand Milk. The responsibility lies with our company alone," Yoshida said.
Shares in both firms tumbled on Wednesday morning after a newspaper said the meat-packing unit disguised Australian beef as Japanese to qualify for the government purchase plan.
