Snack-food maker Calbee Foods Co. said Wednesday it will recall all of its Jagariko potato snacks produced before June 7 because a genetically modified variety of potato yet to be approved in Japan was mixed into the ingredients.
The Tokyo-based company said the New Leaf Plus potato was detected in four of eight test samples of the two types of Jagariko products, flavored with cheese and salt, produced at its factory in Shiga Prefecture.
The potatoes used in Jagariko products are domestically grown or imported frozen.
New Leaf Plus potatoes were probably mixed in the imported frozen potatoes from the United States and Canada, the company said.
Japan has not yet approved the use of New Leaf Plus potatoes using genetically modified organism technology.
In a related development, the public health service office of the prefecture ordered Calbee's factory in the prefecture to recall about 264,800 packages of the products produced from May 2 to 24 that have already been shipped to shops in the Kinki region and surrounding areas.