, formerly , is a Japanese food company. It was a major

dairy A dairy is a place where milk is stored and where butter, cheese, and other dairy products are made, or a place where those products are sold. It may be a room, a building, or a larger establishment. In the United States, the word may also des ...

industry company established in 1917. Apart from dairy products like

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of lactating mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfeeding, breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. ...

ice cream Ice cream is a frozen dessert typically made from milk or cream that has been flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as Chocolate, cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit, such as strawberries or peaches. Food ...

, and

cheese Cheese is a type of dairy product produced in a range of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk (usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats or sheep). During prod ...

, their lineup includes

sports drink Sports drinks, also known as electrolyte drinks, are non-caffeinated functional beverages whose stated purpose is to help athletes replace water, electrolytes, and energy before, during and (especially) after training or competition. The eviden ...

pizza Pizza is an Italian cuisine, Italian, specifically Neapolitan cuisine, Neapolitan, dish typically consisting of a flat base of Leavening agent, leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomato, cheese, and other ingredients, baked at a high t ...

, chocolate bars and

food supplement A dietary supplement is a manufactured product intended to supplement a person's diet by taking a pill, capsule, tablet, powder, or liquid. A supplement can provide nutrients either extracted from food sources, or that are synthetic ( ...

s like "Toromeiku", described as a "food viscosity preparation". It has a joint venture in Thailand with

Charoen Pokphand The Charoen Pokphand Group Company, Ltd. (CP) (; ) is a Thai conglomerate based in Bangkok. It is Thailand's largest private company and the largest privately held Royal Warrant holder of the Thai Royal Family. The company describes itself as hav ...

to market dairy products. On April 1, 2009,

Meiji Seika , formerly is a Japanese pharmaceutical company. It is currently a subsidiary of Meiji Holdings and a Japanese leader in the area of infectious disease with 18% market share. It markets treatments for depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, ...

and Meiji Dairies established a holding company,

Meiji Holdings is a Japanese holding company established on April 1, 2009, after the stock transfer from Meiji Seika and Meiji Dairies and is the fourth largest confectionery company in the world. Reorganization Meiji Holdings held a press conference on Sep ...

, which is a constituent of the Nikkei 225 index. Two years later on the day, Meiji Dairies took over the food and healthcare business of Meiji Seika, and became a food company with legal name Meiji Co., Ltd. It is a

confectionery Confectionery is the Art (skill), art of making confections, or sweet foods. Confections are items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates, although exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confections are divided into two bro ...

company that manufactures a wide range of products including Hello Panda and Yan Yan. Its competitors include

Ezaki Glico , commonly known as Glico, is a Japanese multinational food processing company headquartered in Nishiyodogawa-ku, Osaka. It does business across 30 countries, in North America, Asia-Pacific and Europe. Overview Ezaki Glico's primary busin ...

Kabaya is a Japanese confectionery company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether Natural person, natural, Juridical person, juridical or a mixture of both, w ...

Lotte Confectionery Lotte Wellfood Co., Ltd. (), formerly Lotte Confectionery, is a South Korean international confectionery company headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. The company was established in 1967. Currently, it is the third-largest chewing gum manufacturer ...

and Morinaga. On December 6, 2011, radioactive

caesium Caesium (IUPAC spelling; also spelled cesium in American English) is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Cs and atomic number 55. It is a soft, silvery-golden alkali metal with a melting point of , which makes it one of only f ...

was found in the Meiji baby formula. The level of contamination was lower than the Japanese government's allowable limit of 200 becquerels per kilogram, which is 50 becquerels higher than the limit applied in the aftermath of the

Chernobyl disaster On 26 April 1986, the no. 4 reactor of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, located near Pripyat, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union (now Ukraine), exploded. With dozens of direct casualties, it is one of only ...

. The company made the controversial claim that the infant milk was "within safety limits" and that it "didn't pose a health risk", despite a potentially large number of infants suffering internal radiation through ingesting the contaminated milk who were presumably already exposed to the external radiation originally unleashed in the March disaster. Meiji Dairies voluntarily recalled 400,000 cans of formula. The

radioactive contamination Radioactive contamination, also called radiological pollution, is the deposition of, or presence of Radioactive decay, radioactive substances on surfaces or within solids, liquids, or gases (including the human body), where their presence is uni ...

was originally discovered by a citizen's group in Nihonmatsu City, Fukushima Prefecture as far back as November but the company found itself unable to act immediately upon receiving the information. Meiji owns the United States cookie manufacturer D.F. Stauffer Biscuit Company based in

York, Pennsylvania York is a city in York County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. Located in South Central Pennsylvania, the city's population was 44,800 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in ...

Notes

External links

Meiji Co., Ltd. website in English
Japanese companies established in 1917 Food and drink companies established in 1917 Drink companies of Japan Dairy products companies of Japan Food and drink companies based in Tokyo Japanese brands Japanese chocolate companies Confectionery companies of Japan Snack food manufacturers of Japan Chūō, Tokyo Companies formerly listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange {{food-company-stub

See also

Notes

External links