In the wake of the food safety scandal surrounding Japan's Fujiya Co that broke on Monday, Pacific Sogo Department Store (太平洋崇光百貨) yesterday decided to pull all products from the famous Japanese pastry maker pending updated information from the importer.
Pacific Sogo sells Fujiya candies and cookies in its seven branches nationwide, but the products only account for a small fraction of revenues, the company said.
Although the food scare only involved Fujiya's cream puffs and other milk-related products, Pacific Sogo still decided to remove its products from the shelves for consumer safety, a public relations official said.
Given the difficulty of maintaining the freshness of imported cream puffs, Taiwan only sells the Japanese firm's candies, chocolates and cookies, said Ong Sieng Trading Co (
In a statement posted on its Web site, Ong Sieng stressed that Fujiya owns two different production lines -- one manufacturing pastries and the other churning out candies, chocolates and cookies, adding that consumers could be certain of the quality of the products.
"On behalf of Fujiya Co, we apologize for any concerns and inconveniences the incident has caused for our retailers and consumers," Ong Sieng chairman Chen Wan-wang (陳萬旺) said.
Other retailers, including 7-Eleven, Shin Kong Mitsukoshi (新光三越) and Carrefour said they have no plans to remove the products.
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