Firm Sold Out-of-Date Food as It Was 'Tasty'

　　Fine wines and cheese may improve with age, but Japanese consumers were probably shocked to find that one company executive thought Chinese spring rolls did too. That, at least, is what Reiko Yoshida, head of a small food firm in western Japan, told a news conference when asked to explain why her company sold frozen spring rolls and other products that were well past their sell-by date1. "I was told that the products were past their expiry date, but I gave the order to sell them after I tried them and found them tasty," a spokesman for the company, Shinsho, quoted Yoshida as telling a news conference. The company sold about 2,600 frozen spring rolls to stores even though some were nearly six months past their expiry date, the spokesman said. Yoshida accepted now that the company should have thrown the food away after the sell-by date passed and that it would take care from now on. The firm has voluntarily halted business in 21 of its 23 shops around the country for an indefinite period of time. Japanese consumer confidence in food products has been shaken by several recent scandals, include cases of mislabeling.

　　美酒和干酪也许是越陈越好，不过日本的消费者可能会震惊于这样的事实：一位公司主管认为这一规律也适用于中国春卷。至少，日本西部一个小食品公司的主管吉田玲子(音)在记者招待会上是这么说的，当时人们要求她解释为何她的公司要出售已过期很久的冻春卷和其他产品。公司发言人新胜(音)引用吉田在记者招待会上的话说：“别人告诉我这些产品已经过了保质期，但我还是下令出售，因为我尝过了，味道很好。”这位发言人说，公司卖了大约2600个冻春卷给各家商店，尽管其中一些已经过期将近半年。吉田现在承认公司应该扔掉过期食品，表示以后会对此多加注意。公司并主动无限期关闭了全国23个连锁店中的21个。日本近日发生了几起这样的丑闻，包括乱贴标签的事情，日本消费者对食品的信心因此大受影响。

　　Remarks：臭猪头自然有烂鼻子的菩萨爱吃，对过期食品的个人爱好无可非议，但不管别人是否有此同好而强行推己及人的做法就有点过分了。