Meiji Co.

Meiji Co., Ltd. (株式会社明治, Kabushiki-gaisha Meiji), formerly Meiji Dairies Corporation (明治乳業株式会社, Meiji Nyūgyō Kabushiki-gaisha), is a Japanese food company. It was established in 1917 as a dairy company. Apart from dairy products like milk, ice cream, and cheese, its lineup includes sports drinks, pizza, chocolate bars and food supplements. The company manufactures confectionery products including Hello Panda and Yan Yan. Its competitors include Ezaki Glico, Kabaya, Lotte Confectionery, and Morinaga. On April 1, 2009, Meiji Seika and Meiji Dairies established the holding company Meiji Holdings, which is a constituent of the Nikkei 225 index. Two years later, Meiji Dairies took over the food and healthcare business of Meiji Seika and became a food company under the legal name Meiji Co., Ltd. It operates CP-Meiji, a joint venture with Charoen Pokphand in Thailand that was founded on February 1, 1989, and produces and markets dairy products including pasteurized milk and yogurt. On December 6, 2011, radioactive caesium was detected in batches of Meiji Step baby formula made in March 2011. Meiji said the levels were within safe limits and did not pose a health risk. Tests found caesium-134 at up to 15.2 becquerels per kilogram and caesium-137 at up to 16.5 becquerels per kilogram, below Japan’s limit of 200 becquerels per kilogram for infant milk and dairy products. The company voluntarily recalled 400,000 cans of the product. In the United States, Meiji operates through Meiji America Inc., which owns Stauffer’s, a cookie and cracker manufacturer based in York, Pennsylvania.