The agriculture and fishery ministry has found that an Osaka-based firm shipped 2.05 million Chinese grilled eels after labeling them as domestically produced. The firm, Uohide, says it wanted to clear Chinese eel inventories, the sales of which had had plummeted in the wake of food poisoning incidents involving Chinese "gyoza" dumplings that was reported in late January.
Uohide's actions have betrayed consumers as well as damaged the reputation of domestic eel farmers.
According to the ministry, Uohide shipped 256 tons of the 796 tons of Chinese eels held by it after falsifying their labels. The labels carried the name of Isshiki Food, a dummy company set up by Uohide in Okazaki, Aichi Prefecture, and listed the eels as originating in Isshiki, Aichi Prefecture, where more than 20 percent of domestic eels are produced. Shinko Gyorui Ltd., a Kobe-based subsidiary of Maruha-Nichiro Holding Inc., sold at least 49 tons, or 390,000, of the Chinese eels.