Feb 07 (Japan Times) - Lawson Inc. said Wednesday it closed two of its franchise convenience stores after discovering they had systematically falsified expiration times on some food items prepared in the stores over a period of several years.
The company is now checking all other outlets throughout Japan to see if there have been similar incidents and plans to strengthen its control over their operations, such as by installing a camera in the kitchen and keeping closer track of how many food labels are issued at each store.
It has already closed the two stores that were run by the same franchise owner, who knew about the label tampering by employees, according to Lawson, which operates around 14,000 convenience stores in Japan.
It is not known whether the owner ordered the relabeling.
The stores in Saitama Prefecture near Tokyo were found to have extended by seven hours the expiration on boxed meals and baked goods, including pork bowls and sandwiches, by changing labels on the products two hours before they were due to expire, Lawson said.
“We deeply apologize for having caused serious inconvenience to our customers,†Lawson said in a statement.
One of the stores continued with the practice for two and a half years since its opening in July 2016, affecting up to 13,700 items, while the other conducted the package tampering between around 2014 and June 2017, it said.
