The encyclopedia · Legal & Compliance · Legal decision · 2020–2024
Lopia sold 645,994 food packs with incomplete labels across 74 stores
For up to three years, 18 repacked foods omitted origins or ingredients. Japan's agriculture ministry ordered a chain-wide compliance repair.
Lopia · 2024-06-11
What happened
On 11 June 2024, Japan's agriculture ministry instructed supermarket operator Lopia to correct food-labeling violations found during an inspection. Eighteen confectionery and prepared-food products repacked in stores omitted required information, including raw-material origins and ingredients.
From at least April 2020 through July 2023, Lopia sold 645,994 affected packs at 74 stores. A chocolate-and-walnut scone omitted that its flour was domestically manufactured, while fried rice crackers omitted an ingredient. The longest-running violations continued for about three years and three months.
The ministry required Lopia to inspect labels on every food it sold, correct products before sale, clarify responsibility, add cross-checks, train directors and employees, and report its corrective measures by 11 July 2024.
Why it happened
- Store-repacked foods were treated as if dividing an existing product reduced the labeling obligations, even though consumers still needed full origin and ingredient information.
- Label data could be entered incorrectly without an effective second check against the source product and statutory requirements.
- Responsibility for food-label compliance was diffuse across 74 stores, allowing the same control gap to persist for more than three years.
The lesson
Repacking does not reset a product's compliance duties. Carry source data into every new label, assign one accountable owner and block sale until a second check passes.
Aftermath
The ministry ordered Lopia to inspect all food labels, strengthen mutual checks, educate executives and staff, prevent recurrence and file a remediation report within one month.
Sources
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