Asahi Soft Drinks to withdraw Wonda canned coffee drink.

TOKYO, Oct. 26 Kyodo

Asahi Soft Drinks  Co. said Thursday it will withdraw thousands of its Wonda canned coffee drinks from the market following reports from several consumers of a ''strange taste.''

The Tokyo-based beverage company said no one has complained of sickness but it is withdrawing around 960,000 of the 1.16 million 190 gram cans produced Oct. 5 at a factory of Nihon Canpack Co. in Gunma Prefecture.

They were shipped to 16 prefectures in the Kanto, Chubu and Hokuriku regions, Asahi Soft Drinks said.

Nihon Canpack is commissioned by Asahi Soft Drinks to manufacture the drink, publicized widely in Japan through TV commercials featuring golfer Tiger Woods.

The cans in question are marked ''010929'' -- meaning it is best before Sept. 29, 2001 -- and with a note saying they were produced at the Gunma factory.

According to Asahi Soft Drinks, majority owned by Asahi Breweries Ltd., six customers in Tochigi Prefecture who bought the drink from vending machines complained of a ''strange taste'' Oct. 19.

After investigating, the company detected a greater acid content and less sugar than normal.

The company said some cans that had been taken out of the production line due to imperfections were wrongly shipped before they were sterilized.

Asahi Soft Drinks has established a toll-free line for inquiries at 0120-556106.

The 16 prefectures are Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, Saitama, Chiba, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Toyama, Ishikawa, Fukui, Nagano, Yamanashi, Gifu, Shizuoka, Aichi and Mie.