Widespread cases of food poisoning caused recently by products from our Osaka plant have brought untold sufferings to many of our customers, for which we would like to express our deep apology.
We are presently doing our utmost to pay a personal visit to each and every individual affected to express our sincere apologies. For those we have not yet visited to offer our apologies, we are making great efforts to do so as soon as possible.
Conditions at our company have now improved enough to allow us to report on the following points. We cordially ask for your understanding of our efforts.
| 1. |
Safety of manufacturing process confirmed as a result of checks
at 20 plants
Reflecting deeply on the recent deplorable situation, we suspended from July 12 the operations of all our 20 plants manufacturing fluid milks [liquid milk (regular milk), liquid milk containing recombined milk, milk drinks, fermented milk, etc.] We voluntarily checked the safety of their manufacturing processes and also had inspections carried out by third-party organizations. As a result, we have obtained confirmation from the Ministry of Health and Welfare and a Committee of Specialists that there is no longer any serious problems with manufacturing process in terms of food hygiene. In light of this, we have decided to resume operations at all our plants.
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| 2. |
Safety of other plants confirmed |
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Butter, cheese, margarine, powdered milk, baby food, ice cream, frozen food and butter and cheese for business use|
for these products, independent organizations conducted spot inspections of other plants and examined toxin-producing bacteria and concluded that the plants were all problem-free in terms of food hygiene. We have also voluntarily double-checked the manufacturing process.
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| 3. |
To our customers we promise the following |
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In order to regain the confidence of customers, we promise to carry out the following five steps.
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| (1) |
We establish a specific department, Customer Care Center, in Osaka dedicated to providing suitable care for those affected by the food poisoning. |
| (2) |
We set up a toll-free phone number to allow our customers to reach us to express their comments or concerns 365 days a year. |
| (3) |
To further increase confidence of our customers and to guarantee the quality of our products, we will establish a Product Safety Inspection Office which will be under the direct supervision of our president. Outside specialists will also participate in the operations of the office. |
| (4) |
We do not recycle fluid milks once packed. |
| (5) |
To indicate clearly where each of our products was made, we display the plant name on each fluid milk product instead of a plant code number. Eventually this system will be applied to all our products.
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On July 28, we appointed a new company president and started operations under new management. Under our new management, we will return to our roots and exert company-wide efforts to regain the confidence of our customers. At Snow Brand, our priority is on product safety and customer satisfaction.
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August 6,2000
Kohei Nishi,
President of Snow Brand Milk Products Co.
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For inquiries about Snow Brand and its products,
please call toll-free 0120-369114 (9:00`17:30)
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