June 3, 2008

Aeon to sell pork from pigs raised on recycled food-based feed

Japanese retail giant Aeon Co. has announced that they would be selling pork from pigs raised on recycled food-based feed, such as unsold vegetables and other foods.

Aeon will sell the pork at a total of 55 outlets in Tokyo and four nearby prefectures in Kanto, eastern Japan region.

The pork will be sold for about JPY 130 (US$1.21) per 100 grammes, roughly the same as current domestic pork prices.

Aeon intends to sell the pork in other prefectures in the future, aiming to establish a nationwide food recycling system. The company will be collecting unsold foods from 25 outlets in Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo, in cooperation with a recycling company in the prefecture, according to Aeon officials.

Japanese retailers are required to achieve a food-recycling rate of at least 45 percent by fiscal 2012 under the revised food recycling law that took effect last December. Aeon's recycling rate in fiscal 2007 was 32.6 percent.