NAGOYA (Kyodo) Cracker makers in Aichi Prefecture have been passing off prawn crackers, a specialty of the town of Isshiki, as containing local shrimp when in fact they were made with lower-priced shrimp from elsewhere, including China, according to people familiar with the matter.
Three local confectioners have admitted to the allegation, saying they used shrimp from China and other regions at home and abroad to curb costs, and promoted them as using "fresh prawns caught in Mikawa Bay" on their Web sites.
The Japan Fair Trade Commission has been investigating, the sources said.
The prefectural and municipal governments that have promoted the products on their Web sites had deleted the relevant descriptions as of Saturday.
Isshiki's image was tarnished last year by scandals in which companies were found to have passed off Chinese eel as locally grown.
Since peaking in the 1980s, shrimp catches in Mikawa Bay have been on the decline, which has boosted the price.
The cracker makers started to use shrimp from China, Indonesia and elsewhere in Japan because they have the same flavor but cost less, people familiar with the matter said.
Shrimp produced in China and Indonesia cost half to two-thirds of the price of those in Japan, they said.
A local union of 40 makers in and around Isshiki produces roughly 60 percent of all domestically produced prawn crackers, according to the town.