Kirin Beverage Co. has announced a recall of about 4.3 million bottles of Kirin Nama-cha Decaf green tea because some bottles may have not been sealed properly.
The lips of some bottles may have been damaged during the manufacturing process, Kirin said Monday.
Subject to the recall are bottles with a best-before date between April 20 and June 20 of next year with the factory code “S.”
The Kirin Holdings Co. unit will pay for shipping costs to recall the bottles and compensate buyers by sending prepaid cards worth the amount they paid.
The recall came after Kirin Beverage received an email earlier this month from a customer who said the tea tasted different than usual and that a close look found damage on the bottle’s lip.
The company said that a nozzle for washing bottles may have hit the lips in a factory in Samukawa, Kanagawa Prefecture.
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