May 8, 2008

Japan arrests six men for false chicken labelling

Six men have been arrested in Japan for falsely labelling and selling poultry products as Hinai-jidori, a local premium breed of chicken.

The arrested men are the former president of Japanese meat processing company Hinaidori Co., two former executives of Hinaidori and three from a group firm in Odate, Akita Prefecture.

The suspects sold products falsely labelled as Hinai-jidori, including some made from old hens that had stopped laying eggs and had been purchased for under JPY 100 (US$0.95) per bird.

Sales of the falsely labelled products totalled about JPY 15 million (US$143,000).

All six men have admitted to the allegations.