Unusual incident: Pocky biscuit sticks recalled in Japan due to a "strange" smell.

Pocky biscuit sticks are one of the most beloved snacks of all time in Japan, and are also very popular with Vietnamese consumers.

These chocolate-covered cookie bars are loved by both young and old in Japan, appearing on most supermarket shelves, offering affordability and delicious flavor.

But starting around mid-October, a large number of Pocky buyers in Japan reported that it tasted… different.

This difference wasn't due to the cake being expired or stale; it didn't taste moldy or spoiled. It was simply that there was something unusual about it, a taste that these customers couldn't quite describe.

This is a rather strange situation, because Glico, the manufacturer of Pocky, sometimes makes bold adjustments to new formulas, and marketing campaigns will try to praise those adjustments as exciting improvements.

However, if Glico simply switched to using cheaper ingredients, or changed the ingredient ratios to cut costs, they wouldn't make any announcements and would conduct thorough research to make it difficult for customers to detect any change in taste.

In response to this situation, Glico conducted a comprehensive investigation, and the results were surprising: the consumers were right, but Glico did nothing wrong either.

According to the investigation results, Glico determined that the problem stemmed from the cocoa beans used to produce the chocolate coating on the candy bars. These cocoa beans had been stored in the warehouse for eight months, but eight months is still a permissible time for cocoa beans to be preserved without causing flavor changes or other problems.

The cause of this problem is quite surprising: other strongly flavored spices were stored alongside the cocoa beans in the warehouse. Specifically, the cocoa beans were stored near a large quantity of cumin and cloves, both of which have very strong, distinctive aromas that completely contrast with the light, refreshing taste of chocolate.

The ingredients were stored close enough together and for long enough that the aromas of dill and cloves clung to the cocoa beans before being transported to Glico's factory, and when the cocoa beans went into the production process, the aromas of dill and cloves affected the final product, creating the strange taste that Pocky customers have complained about.

Among the affected products is Fuyu no Kuchidoke Pocky, a special edition popular during the winter season.

In a statement released this week, Glico said that this unusually flavored Pocky is completely safe to consume and poses no health risk to those who eat it.

However, while "chocolate-fennel-clove" might sound like the kind you might find at a fancy chocolate shop in Ginza charging exorbitant prices for their innovative confectionery, Glico understands that when it comes to Pocky, people want it to taste like Pocky, something these affected products lack.

For that reason, the company voluntarily recalled approximately six million units across 20 different chocolate products it manufactured, including some non-Pocky products.

Although Pocky has become quite popular overseas, the recall appears to apply only to Pocky and other products sold within Japan.

However, because some specialty stores in other countries import the Japanese Domestic Market (JDM) version of Pocky, it is possible that some of the affected packages have also crossed the ocean to other markets.

In its statement, Glico apologized for the incident and said it would strengthen its supply chain quality control methods to prevent similar incidents from happening again.

The recalled cakes are not dangerous to eat, so the recall is primarily aimed at pleasing customers rather than for health and safety reasons.

(Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/chuyen-hi-huu-banh-que-pocky-phai-thu-hoi-tai-nhat-ban-vi-co-mui-ky-la-post1082640.vnp