Japanese firm recalls eight million US bottles of water
Posted: 17 November 2008 1811 hrs

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TOKYO - A Japanese company said Monday it would recall about eight million bottles of Crystal Geyser spring water imported from California after customers complained about its smell.

Otsuka Beverage said it had received around 75 consumer complaints about the water in October.

"We have decided to recall certain lots of bottles since we received an unusually high number of complaints in October," said a company spokesman.

The company's testing of the affected products indicated no problem, he added.

"It is possible that smells can be transferred to bottled water while being stored in warehouses during the summer," he said.

The water should not pose a risk to human health, but the firm has decided to recall the bottles as a precautionary measure to ensure customer confidence, the spokesman said.

Water sold outside Japan was not affected, the firm said.

It was the latest of many recent recalls involving food and water in Japan that have caused concern among consumers.

Kirin Beverage Corp. recalled Volvic brand water from France in October following customer complaints about strange smells.

Food safety has become a sensitive issue in Japan after a flurry of scandals involving Japanese companies that mislabelled expired produce or sold pesticide-laced food, mostly imported from China. - AFP/vm