As the boycott of Japanese goods continues, the food industry is also rushing to break away from Japan. CJ Cheiljedang is speeding up its drive to localize 100% of its rice bran extract for Hetbahn (cooked rice).
CJ Cheiljedang announced on Jan. 6 that it has applied its technology to extract rice bran to 20 percent of its total supplies, including mixed grain rice and white rice, since January.
The company plans to expand the application of the technology to 50 percent of the total amount in the first quarter of this year.
CJ Cheiljedang completed the development of its rice bran extract technology in September last year and applied it to “Ogokbap” (five-grain rice) products on a trial basis starting in October.
In the meantime, CJ Cheiljedang used the rice bran extract imported from Japan for Hatbahn in the first half of this year. As more consumers are scrutinizing the country of origin due to the boycott of Japanese goods last year, rumors have spread that rice bran extract imported from Fukushima are used for Hatbahn in the first half of the year.
CJ Cheiljedang explained that the extract in Hatbahn is less than 0.1 percent, and the producer is more than 800 kilometers away from Fukushima.
"After applying the domestically developed technology to Hatbahn, a more careful verification and testing process was essential to meet the strict taste and quality standards," said an official of CJ CheilJedang. "We will continue to make our utmost efforts to research and develop products that consumers can trust."
