is a Japanese food company and the world's largest bread-baking corporation, that makes bread, bakery products and confectionery. It was established by Tojuro Iijima in Japan on 9 March 1948 and started mass production of bread in 1955, and is still controlled by the Iijima family; Nobuhiro Iijima is the third generation of the family to lead the company.

History

Yamazaki products can be found in various

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n countries, including

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, and

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（including

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

）. In October 1970, the company established a joint venture, Yamazaki-Nabisco Co., Ltd. (now known as Yamazaki Biscuits Co., Ltd. or YBC), with

Nabisco Nabisco (, abbreviated from the earlier name National Biscuit Company) is an American manufacturer of cookies and snacks headquartered in East Hanover, New Jersey. The company is a subsidiary of Illinois-based Mondelēz International. Nabisco' ...

of the United States and Nichimen Jitsugyo Corporation (currently

Sojitz Corporation is a ''sogo shosha'' (general trading company) based in Tokyo, Japan. It is engaged in a wide range of businesses globally, including buying, selling, importing, and exporting goods, manufacturing and selling products, providing services, and pl ...

). By 1988 Yamazaki raised its stake in the joint venture to 80% by acquiring the shares held by Nabisco. In 1991, Yamazaki purchased

Vie de France is a Japanese bakery chain owned by Yamazaki Baking. It is headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo.会社概要

Bakery division (began in 1971), and in 1994, Yamazaki Baking purchased the Vie de France Restaurant division (began in 1978). Yamazaki now operates ''Vie de France'' in the United States and Japan under the ''Vie de France'' brand. Until 2014, Yamazaki used
potassium bromate Potassium bromate () is a bromate of potassium and takes the form of white crystals or powder. It is a strong oxidizing agent. Preparation and structure Potassium bromate is produced when bromine is passed through a hot solution of potassium hyd ...
in their bread, while all other Japanese baking companies voluntarily stopped using it in 1980 due to suspicions of
carcinogen A carcinogen () is any agent that promotes the development of cancer. Carcinogens can include synthetic chemicals, naturally occurring substances, physical agents such as ionizing and non-ionizing radiation, and biologic agents such as viruse ...
icity. However, they started to use it again in early 2020, claiming they had developed a new method for reducing the amount of potassium bromate so that nothing remains of it in the final product. They stated potassium bromate was not detected in a test with 0.5 ppb accuracy. In 2016, Yamazaki acquired the US company Bakewise Brands, parent of Fleischer's Bagels and Tom Cat Bakery. In the same year,
Mondelez International Mondelēz International, Inc. ( ) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational confectionery, food industry, food, Holding company, holding, drink industry, beverage and snack food company based in Chicago. Mondelez has an annual rev ...
terminated the Yamazaki-Nabisco joint venture and started to produce Nabisco biscuits under Mondelez Japan, shifting production to China and Indonesia. A year later, Yamazaki (through YBC) introduced their version of Oreo called "Noir", which is produced at the former Oreo factory in
Ibaraki Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Ibaraki Prefecture has a population of 2,828,086 (1 July 2023) and has a geographic area of . Ibaraki Prefecture borders Fukushima Prefecture to the north, ...
.

Gallery

See also
* Daily Yamazaki, Yamazaki's convenience store division

References

External links

Yamazaki Baking Co., Ltd.

Yamazaki Baking Co., Ltd.
{{Authority control Japanese companies established in 1948 Companies listed on the Osaka Exchange Companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Food and drink companies established in 1948 Food manufacturers based in Tokyo Snack food manufacturers of Japan Bakeries of Japan