Marudai Food Co announced Saturday a voluntary recall of five Chinese-made products marketed in this country, saying they may contain the toxin melamine.
According to the company, milk produced by a Chinese dairy firm that was confirmed to have contained the chemical, was used in the five Marudai products. It is the first time in Japan that food products have been recalled over melamine contamination. Several babies in China have died recently from drinking melamine-laced powder milk.
The health, labour and welfare ministry instructed Japanese firms that have imported processed foods from China to confirm the safety of their products, while the agriculture, forestry and fisheries ministry asked bakery and confectionery industries in Japan to conduct urgent safety checks of their products.