The Japanese consumer, still reeling from the Snow Brand scandal surrounding the mislabelling of beef, suffered a further shock this week when Japan's number-three meat wholesaler, Starzen, admitted to falsely labelling cheaper beef and pork as pricier brands.
In what seems like a non-stop drama in the Japanese meat industry, the company confessed that it had sold the falsely labelled meat to 16 supermarkets operated by Kyushu Jusco. The wrong-doing was detected during a farm ministry inspection.
The industry can ill afford these shocks with many companies already hit by depressed demand due to the outbreak of mad cow disease in Japan.
Earlier this month the Japanese meat company Snow Brand had ignited public outrage over the mislabelling of imported beef and the alteration of expiry dates on butter at that firm's parent and Japan's biggest dairy products maker, Snow Brand Milk Products.
Shares in Starzen fell 33 per cent this week.