OSAKA -- Tetsuro Ishikawa, president of Snow Brand Milk Products Co., was hospitalized Sunday for complications arising from hypertension, company officials said Monday.

Vice President Akihiko Sasajima will be acting president for about a week while Ishikawa undergoes treatment, they said.

The 66-year-old president announced Thursday that he will step down in late September to take responsibility for a massive outbreak of food poisoning allegedly caused by the company's milk products.