On December 8th, Ezaki Glico announced that it would voluntarily recall 20 chocolate products, including "Pocky Chocolate" and "Pocky Gokuboso," which it manufactures and sells, after discovering that some products had a different flavor than intended.
The cause was that, during renovation work at a logistics warehouse where cocoa beans, the main ingredient of the chocolate product in question, were stored, the cocoa beans and spices were temporarily stored in the same location, resulting in the aroma of the spices transferring to the cocoa beans.
The company states that while the affected products may have a spice-derived flavor not typically found in chocolate products, they are safe to consume as is.
Going forward, the company plans to take every possible measure to ensure thorough quality control, including reviewing warehouse storage rules and inspection systems, to prevent recurrence.
