OSAKA -- Snow Brand Milk Products Co. on Tuesday said it has appointed Nobuko Hiwasa, former chief of a leading consumer group, as an outside director in charge of food safety.

"It is our urgent task to regain the confidence of consumers," Haruhiko Okada, vice president of Snow Brand Milk, said at a news conference.

Hiwasa, 65, is a former head of the National Liaison Committee of Consumers' Organizations. Her appointment will be approved at a shareholders' general meeting June 27, company officials said.