Food manufacturers operating in disaster-stricken Fukushima Prefecture have been forced to make costly efforts to reassure consumers about safety.
Food manufacturers operating in disaster-stricken Fukushima Prefecture have been forced to make costly efforts to reassure consumers about safety.It has meant purchasing special equipment to monitor radiation levels in their products. While many companies are still struggling to return to normal production after the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake, additional costs are weighing on a number of small and midsize companies. Asahi Breweries Ltd. is operating only three of eight production lines at its Fukushima plant in Motomiya, Fukushima Prefecture. The company plans to raise output if demand grows. Whether the plant resumes pre-disaster production levels depends on the brewer winning the confidence of consumers about the safety of its products, according to the company.Asahi Breweries spent about 30 million yen ($385,800) to install equipment in the plant to check the radiation levels in its beer and other products.The equipment measures radiation levels of about 10 ingredients--malt, hops and water, for example. Radiation in the process of production and after products are completed is also monitored. Currently, most products are shipped to retailers within the prefecture. Asahi's Honnama Aqua Blue low-malt "happoshu" has been available since late November, and its mainstay Super Dry beer will hit Fukushima Prefecture shelves on Dec. 6. "We are selling because we are absolutely sure of the safety of our products," said Akiyoshi Koji, president of Asahi Breweries, at a ceremony marking recovery from the disaster held at the plant on Dec. 2. "Even if there still are harmful rumors about product safety, misunderstanding will eventually dissipate if we continue sales."Yakult Honsha Co., manufacturer of lactic acid bacteria beverages, acknowledged that consumers are increasingly sensitive to the safety of food products after reports that rice grown in the prefecture was contaminated with cesium at levels higher than government standards. "Even if our product lineup has nothing to do with rice, consumers are still inquiring about our products--about the safety," said Masaru Kurihara, general manager of the company's Fukushima plant.Yakult Honsha invested nearly 100 million yen to put in place equipment to monitor radiation. "We are taking no chances," Kurihara said. Previously, all the lactic acid bacteria beverages and other items were checked for possible contamination at its plant in neighboring Ibaraki Prefecture. Nagatanien Co., a pre-mixed and instant foods manufacturer, makes freeze-dried materials for a rice product and sauce used in a Chinese dish with fried egg and crab at its subsidiary's factory in Iwaki. The company said it double-checks radiation levels. The factory monitors items made there after Nagatanien's quality management division screens materials to be used at the factory for possible radiation contamination. Nagatanien shifted production of curry and some other products at the Iwaki factory to a plant in Mie Prefecture in October to "ensure a stable supply."The company said that it makes it easier to distribute its goods to all parts of Japan from the Mie factory. Morinaga Milk Industry Co. spent several tens of millions of yen on equipment to detect radiation levels at its factory in Fukushima, which produces butter and powdered skim milk. While large companies appear to be able to afford such additional investment to check on their own, many small and midsize companies do not. The Fukushima prefectural government began assisting radiation checks of processed foods in October. But with only two monitoring devices available at the prefectural government for that purpose, many local manufacturers of processed foods have arranged for monitoring to be done in other prefectures.(This article was written by Takuro Chiba and Haruka Takashige.)