Japan’s Nippon Goshei to Pay U.S. Fine

Japanese chemical company Nippon Goshei agreed to plead guilty and pay a $21-million criminal fine for participating in a 17-year international conspiracy to fix the price of food preservatives known as sorbates, the U.S. Justice Department said. In addition, a former Nippon Goshei executive agreed to plead guilty and pay a $350,000 fine, the department said. Nippon Goshei will become the third company to plead guilty and cooperate with the ongoing investigation by the department’s antitrust division. Last October, Eastman Chemical Co., a U.S. sorbate producer, pleaded guilty and was fined $11 million. Last month, German pharmaceutical giant Hoechst pleaded guilty and was fined $36 million. Sorbates are used to preserve cheese, baked goods and other high-moisture or high-sugar dairy and processed foods.