Scandals Threaten Japan's Image of Culinary Purity

TOKYO — Ocean-fresh sushi? Quality marbled beef? Exquisite confectioneries? Think again.

Japan has been hit by a slew of food safety and false labeling scandals that is threatening to wreck its image as a country of culinary wonders, squeaky-clean factories and impeccable sanitation.

In the most recent scandal, a venerable maker of traditional Japanese sweets was found to have recycled the red-bean filling in its rice cakes, collecting old filling from leftover boxes and shipping out the cakes as new.

Investigators also found that Akafuku Co., based in western Japan, had long misled consumers by shipping out old sweets it had stored in freezers, stamped with a production date that was in fact the date the cakes were thawed.

Read the full Associated Press story here.