The widespread poisonings reported Wednesday involving pesticide-tainted frozen "gyoza" dumplings made in China will probably hit Japan's frozen food producers and importers hard, as sales predictably fall and costs to ensure food safety rise in the coming months.
Analysts even forecast that companies may be forced to merge with rivals.
On Wednesday, corporate and government officials announced that at least 10 people suffered food poisoning after eating frozen "gyoza" dumplings laced with pesticide. The dumplings were imported from China by JT Foods Co., a Tokyo-based subsidiary of Japan Tobacco Inc.