Oh rats! Japanese chojuku bread recalled
A popular brand of sliced white bread is being recalled after rat parts were found in some loaves.
Nagoya-based Pasco Shikishima Corp said it is recalling 104,000 packs of its Pasco bread from 15 prefectures after parts of a small black rat was found in a batch of super-fermented chojuku bread produced at a factory west of Tokyo.
While the recall of the contaminated products had been completed, Pasco said it was recalling other items produced on the same line as an abundance of precaution. The line has also been “suspended for the time being to investigate the cause and to strengthen countermeasures,” the company said in a statement.
“We deeply apologize for the serious inconvenience and trouble this has caused to our customers, suppliers, and other concerned parties.”
Japan – which is known for its high standards of cleanliness and food safety – has recently been hit with a string of food safety scares.
In March, Kobayashi Pharmaceutical was ordered to recall supplement products containing red yeast rice, called beni koji, after five people died and more than 100 were hospitalized.
The scare is rocking a segment of Japan’s food market that has grown rapidly following looser regulations on labeling. Demand for functional foods – a category called tokuho (or foods with special health qualities) – was estimated to be $4.53bn in 2023.
Last year, a wave of social media pranks saw numerous arrests. Dubbed sushi terrorism, diners at conveyor belt restaurants filmed themselves spraying food with hand sanitizer or licking the rim of a cup before returning it to the conveyor.