Consumer confidence in food products took another hit in Japan this week, when the head of a small firm in western Japan defended selling frozen spring rolls and other products that were nearly six months past their sell-by date by saying that they were “tasty”.


Shinsho sold about 2,600 spring rolls to Japanese retailers despite that some were well out of date. It has now voluntarily closed 21 of its 23 shops indefinitely.


In a statement read out at a news conference by a Shinsho spokesperson, company boss Reiko Yoshida explained: “I was told that the products were past their expiry date, but I gave the order to sell them after I tried them and found them tasty.”


According to a report by Reuters, Yoshida then accepted that, looking back, she should have insisted that the food was thrown away.

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