Executives at Nippon Foods, a subsidiary of leading Japanese meat processor Nippon Meat Packers, are being questioned by police over accusations that the firm defrauded a state-run beef subsidy scheme.
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Nippon Food officials are alleged to have abused a beef buyback scheme intended to help processors withstand the downturn caused by the country’s BSE crisis. The government offered to buy back domestic beef that processors would be unable to sell.
Shunji Tanaka, a former regional marketing chief who headed the branch, is alleged to have ordered colleagues to relabel 520 kilograms of imported beef as domestic in order to claim the subsidies, reports the Daily Yomiuri. Tanaka will be asked why he encouraged the fraudulent behaviour, and questioned about the possible involvement of company headquarters.
The company’s owner, Nippon Meat Packers, is just recovering from its own part in a meat mislabelling scandal. Its chairman has resigned and the president been demoted in a bid to restore consumer confidence.
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By GlobalData
