The EU’s aviation safety agency has recommended that companies stop using products made by the embattled Japanese company Kobe Steel, a major supplier to aircraft manufacturers around the world.

Japan's third biggest steelmaker has for weeks been engulfed in a massive data falsification scandal and is still trying to ascertain the extent of damage caused.

On Tuesday, Reuters reported that the US Justice Department had asked the company to provide documents relating to the issue after reports surfaced that data tampering on products had been going on for more than a decade.

Hundreds of companies are potentially ensnared in the scandal, from the operators of Japan’s famous bullet trains to Boeing, which is the world’s biggest aircraft maker.

Kobe Steel’s chief executive – Hiroya Kawasaki – has in recent days admitted that the firm's credibility has plunged to “zero”. Last week he disclosed that about 500 companies had received its falsely certified products, which was more than double an earlier count.