Japan orders spot checks on ground-beef products after other meats found mixed in

The Agriculture Ministry ordered surprise inspections of ground-beef products nationwide Tuesday after it discovered one company was mixing pork, chicken and other meats into goods labeled as pure beef.

"We ordered an emergency nationwide inspection of products which use ground-beef to ensure consumer trust in food labeling," Agriculture Minister Norihiko Akagi said Tuesday.

The move came after the ministry discovered that Meat Hope, which makes processed meat products in Hokkaido in northern Japan, had been mislabeling minced beef products that also contained pork, chicken and duck since 1998.

Meat Hope sold 368 tons of falsely labeled meat in the past year, the ministry said in a press release.

The ministry discovered the deceit earlier this month and announced its findings on Monday. It has yet to say what action it plans to take against Meat Hope.

During a monthlong survey, officials will buy products such as meatballs and hamburger patties to conduct DNA analysis, ministry official Hiroaki Tanaka said Tuesday.

The ministry will release the results of the analysis in late August, he said, adding that if any violations are found, the ministry will conduct further investigations, including plant inspections.

Repeat violations will be punished, Tanaka said.

Meat Hope was also found to be combining Japanese and non-Japanese ground beef and selling it as Japanese, the ministry statement said. Many consumers prefer domestic beef over foreign because of fears about mad cow disease.

The company is also accused of mixing beef hearts with ground pork to improve the color of the pork, and of changing expiration dates of frozen food products, according to the ministry.

The disclosure came amid increasing consumer concerns over food safety in Japan. Earlier this year, the president of major Japanese confectioner Fujiya resigned after the company admitted to selling cakes using outdated ingredients.