Two children died and 56 other people became ill from food poisoning linked to a raw meat dish at a restaurant in central Japan, news reports said Tuesday.
One boy died on Wednesday in Fukui Prefecture and the other boy on Friday in Toyama Prefecture after eating dish called Yukhoe served at restaurants run by Foods Forus Co in Kanazawa. The two were infected with E coli O-111 strain, DPA reported.
The other victims were also confirmed at four barbecue restaurants of the company, Jiji said.
The company conceded at a news conference that it had failed to carry out hygiene inspections for the last two years of raw meat supplied by a Tokyo-based wholesaler for the dish.
The wholesaler said it was impossible to comment because the person in charge of the sale was absent, Jiji said.