食の偽装拡大 「日本ブランド」を傷つけるな

The Yomiuri Shimbun November 10, 2013
Scandal involving false food labeling could harm Japan brand reputation
食の偽装拡大　「日本ブランド」を傷つけるな（11月9日付・読売社説）

The scandal involving the false labeling of food seems to be endless. It has spread from the hotel industry to restaurants and the food sections of department stores, among other businesses.
　食品の虚偽表示が底なしの様相だ。ホテルにとどまらず、百貨店のレストランや食品売り場でも次々と発覚している。

We are astonished by the lack of morals in these industries as a whole.
　業界全体のモラルの欠如にあぜんとさせられる。

Black tiger shrimp was labeled “kuruma ebi” Japanese tiger prawn, ready-made juice in cartons was presented as “fresh juice” and Australian beef was called “Japanese beef,” to name a few examples of misrepresentation.
　ブラックタイガーを「車エビ」、既製の紙パック入りジュースを「フレッシュジュース」、豪州産牛肉は「和牛」――。

After the revelation of such cases, executives of hotels and department stores made such excuses as “We had little understanding of how precisely we should label [the products]” or “We didn’t check raw materials.”
　発覚後、ホテルや百貨店の幹部は「認識が甘かった」「原材料のチェックまでしていなかった」と釈明する。

There is no end to cases in which executives concerned do not admit they falsely labeled products, but insist the food items were “mistakenly labeled.” Clearly, they are simply trying to say they did not intentionally misrepresent products.
「偽装」を認めず、「誤表示」と言い募るケースが後を絶たない。意図的ではなかったとの趣旨だろう。

However, the Law against Unjustifiable Premiums and Misleading Representations does not address whether an act was done intentionally or negligently in cases of “representations that may mislead consumers as to the quality of goods.”
　しかし、景品表示法の「優良誤認」については、故意か過失かを問わない。

It is illegal to deceive customers into believing that a consumer good is far better or more advantageous than it is in reality. We think the current series of false representations falls under this category.
商品が実際よりも優れていると消費者をだますことが違法になる。一連の虚偽表示は、これに該当するのではないか。

Consumers deeply trust hotels and department stores. That is why they pay relatively high prices in exchange for high-quality services. These businesses should be keenly aware of the heavy responsibility they bear for deceiving consumers.
　ホテル、百貨店に対する消費者の信頼は厚い。だからこそ、質の高いサービスと引き換えに割高な代金を支払う。消費者を欺いた責任は重い。

Among the various false representations, "restructured" meat was mislabeled as genuine “beef steak.” Restructured meat contains such ingredients as milk constituents, wheat and soybeans, all of which can cause allergic reactions in consumers. The menus did not explain that fact. Some hotels even served dishes without knowing what raw materials were contained in the food.
　虚偽表示の中には、成形肉を「ステーキ」などと偽った事例もあった。成形肉にはアレルギー症状を引き起こす乳成分や小麦、大豆が含まれる。メニューに注意書きはなく、原材料を知らずに料理を出していたホテルもあった。

In the worst cases, food allergies can result in death. We are shocked by such sloppy behavior.
　食物アレルギーは最悪の場合、死に至る危険もある。ずさんな対応に驚くばかりだ。

Industries must reflect

A ryokan Japanese-style inn in the city of Nara also served restructured meat to customers as Japanese beef. Ryokan staffers asked guests whether they had food allergies without telling them they would be served restructured meat. They then served the actual Japanese beef listed on the menu only to guests who had food allergies. There is no justification for such behavior.
　奈良市の旅館に至っては、客に対し、成形肉とは明かさずにアレルギーの有無を聞き、該当者にだけ表示通りの和牛を提供していたという。言語道断である。

The Consumer Affairs Agency, which has started an investigation into the false-labeling cases, this week asked industry organizations of hotels and department stores to compile and submit reports to the agency one month from now on their efforts to appropriately represent food on menus and in other situations. These entire industries must respond sincerely to the situation.
　虚偽表示の調査に乗り出した消費者庁は、適正表示の取り組み状況をまとめ、１か月をめどに報告するよう、ホテルと百貨店の業界団体に求めた。業界を挙げた真摯(しんし)な対応が必要だ。

One factor behind the endless false representations is a lack of knowledge among those involved in the industries. The Consumer Affairs Agency has issued a guidebook to the industries describing concrete examples of violations of the law against misleading representations and what constitutes misleading representations, and asked them to improve the situation. It is important to make every person working in the industries thoroughly aware of the rules regarding representation.
　虚偽表示が相次ぐ背景には、業界関係者の知識不足もある。消費者庁は、景表法違反の具体例や、判断基準などを盛り込んだ手引書を業界側に示し、改善を求めている。業界に表示ルールを周知徹底することが大切だ。

The government will hold an emergency meeting of ministries and agencies related to the matter at the beginning of the week.
　政府は週明けに、関係省庁による緊急会議を開く。

If the current fiasco is prolonged, business opportunities such as year-end sales are likely to be adversely affected. Such a situation may also harm the credibility of “Japan brand” products and services, which are praised by foreign countries and tourists for their safety and security.
　騒動が長引けば、年末商戦などに悪影響が及ぶ恐れがある。海外や外国人観光客から安心・安全と評価が高い「日本ブランド」の信頼性にも影響しかねない。

Administrative instructions by the government are necessary, but what is primarily required is that all food-related industries change their behavior and make efforts to regain the trust of consumers.
　政府の指導も必要だが、まず求められるのは、食品を扱う業界全体が襟を正し、消費者の信頼回復に努めることである。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Nov. 9, 2013)
（2013年11月9日01時30分  読売新聞）