The recent revelation that a food maker in Shanghai that supplies fast-food and retail chains, including ones in Japan, was using expired and moldy meat in its products came as yet another reminder that the issue of food safety does not stop at national borders but increasingly requires international responses.
McDonald's Japan has halted sales of all chicken products composed of meat from China, but Japan's heavy reliance on food imports from China is likely to continue. Governments and businesses need to enhance international cooperation to ensure the safety of foodstuffs supplied across borders.
The news of the scandal at Shanghai Husi Food Co., a local unit of U.S.-based OSI Group LLC, had companies using products from the Chinese company scrambling to allay consumer concerns. Over the last 12 months to July, roughly 6,000 tons of processed meat products from Shanghai Husi were imported to Japan and supplied to McDonald's Japan and convenience store chain FamilyMart Co.