Tag - food

 
 

FOOD

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken dines at the Nanxiang Steamed Bun Restaurant at the Yu Gardens in Shanghai on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 27, 2024
When U.S. diplomats visit China, meal choices are about more than taste buds
Visits to China by U.S. officials like Secretary of State Antony Blinken can bring fame to local restaurants, as well as scrutiny to the dignitaries.
Specializing in gastronomy-themed tours, Arigato Travel, founded and directed by Anne Kyle, was once a one-woman operation. Today, it counts more than 100 employees.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Apr 26, 2024
Anne Kyle: 'People want to know what life actually is like here’
The founder and CEO of Arigato Travel grew her business from a one-woman operation to a national outfit of more than 100 employees in a matter of years.
Members of the North Pacific Fisheries Commission have agreed to cut the 2024 catch quota for saury in the high seas in the northern Pacific in response to declining resources.
JAPAN
Apr 19, 2024
Japan and others agree to cut northern Pacific saury catch quota
Nine economies agreed to introduce the rule to calculate catch quotas based on scientific evidence.
Japan and other countries are holding annual talks on saury catch quota.
JAPAN
Apr 16, 2024
Japan and eight other countries discuss saury catch rules
Slated to run until Thursday, the talks will focus on setting calculation rules to allocate catch quotas.
A survey of the 6,975 products with the functional food label was initiated by the government last month following the scandal over Kobayashi Pharmaceuticals’ beni kōji supplements.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 12, 2024
Probe finds 18 functional food products with past reports of health damage in Japan
The survey results come as the industry reels from deaths linked to Kobayashi Pharmaceutical's beni kōji supplements.
“Butter” author Asako Yuzuki was inspired by the real-life story of Kanae Kijima, who was nicknamed the “Black Widow” and the “Konkatsu Killer” by the media for killing three men she dated to maintain her luxurious lifestyle of gourmet meals and a high-end cooking school.
CULTURE / Books
Apr 12, 2024
Asako Yuzuki's 'Butter' is a heady serving of food culture and feminism
The author's foodie femme fatale character was inspired by a real-life "black widow" case that caught the public's attention in 2009.
Health experts say the beni kōji supplement scandal should not be treated as a one-off incident. Instead, it should be seen as a cautionary tale about how such health food items could pose more risks than benefits.
JAPAN / Science & Health / FOCUS
Apr 12, 2024
Kobayashi Pharma’s slow response to scandal spotlights deeper issues
Health experts say the scandal should be seen as a cautionary tale, and not a one-off incident.
Kobayashi Pharmaceutical's headquarters in Osaka
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 11, 2024
Kobayashi Pharma troubles reverberate in Taiwan as firm assists with recall
Taiwan is the only place outside of Japan to have seen reports of people falling ill after consuming the company's beni kōji.
Hiroshima Kanon Senior High School in the city of Hiroshima opened a cafeteria serving authentic Italian cuisine in December last year after Hoyu, which had been entrusted with cafeteria operations, went bankrupt in September.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 10, 2024
Business stability screenings urged for school lunch operators
The directive followed the abrupt suspension of meal services at schools across the country by Hoyu, a cooking service company.
Workers prepare processed crickets at Hygente Technology in Shinjo, Yamagata Prefecture, in November.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Tohoku
Apr 8, 2024
Next-gen protein sources explored as meat replacements in Tohoku
While proponents tout the benefits of edible insects and plant-based meat, getting consumers to change their eating habits remains an uphill task.
Artificial intelligence is peering into restaurant garbage pails and crunching grocery-store data to try to figure out how to send less uneaten food into dumpsters.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 6, 2024
AI is spying on the food we throw away
The tech is being used to try to reduce the amount of uneaten food that ends up in dumpsters.
As they prepare lunch boxes, volunteer residents discuss anything from local supermarket offerings to life in the evacuation sites.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 5, 2024
Making lunch boxes for quake victims brings Noto community together
A spirit of camaraderie pervades among volunteer residents as they put together homemade delicacies for neighbors and fellow volunteers.
Kobayashi Pharmaceutical's Tokyo office. An investigation into the cause of the health issues is underway, with partner companies attempting to recall products that could include the batch of beni kōji said to have caused kidney problems.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 4, 2024
Kobayashi Pharma's wide supply chain complicates search for tainted products
Looking at the overall market, one study showed that around 33,000 companies have sold and distributed products using the firm's red yeast rice.
A vehicle where employees from the World Central Kitchen were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Deir Al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, on Tuesday
WORLD
Apr 4, 2024
World Central Kitchen chef says Israel targeted his aid workers 'systematically'
Chef Jose Andres said the charity group he founded had clear communication with the Israeli military, which he said knew his aid workers' movements.
Chef Jose Andres (center) and local chefs stir large pots of paella destined for people struggling to find enough to eat in the wake of Hurricane Maria, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in October 2017.
WORLD / Society
Apr 3, 2024
How Jose Andres and his corps of cooks became leaders in disaster aid
The idea for World Central Kitchen came to Andres in 2010, when he cooked with Haitians who were living in a camp after an earthquake.
Leftover premium-brand chocolate, originally slated for disposal, is made available for purchase at a discount in Tokyo's Chuo Ward on Feb. 15, the day after Valentine's Day.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 3, 2024
Efforts to reduce food waste find support in Japan but still face challenges
Initiatives are being introduced to avoid the waste of seasonal delicacies, but challenges such as entrenched commercial customs persist.
Warnings have been issued for people to safely use household appliances, including gas stoves.
JAPAN
Apr 3, 2024
Warnings issued for household safety in Japan's new fiscal year
The guidelines aim to raise awareness on product safety and mitigate potential risks surrounding household appliances.
A worker stands on a pile of rice sacks as the other worker carries a sack of rice at the warehouse in Jakarta on Feb.13. Dry weather fueled by El Nino has led to a rice shortage and sent prices to record highs.
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 1, 2024
As El Nino bites, Indonesians struggle with record-high rice prices
Rice has been an integral part of Indonesian history and culture since ancient times, and is one of the country's most important agricultural commodities.
The giant green signs of this supermarket chain can be slightly intimidating, but chefs of all stripes are welcome in Gyomu's aisles.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Mar 31, 2024
In praise of Gyomu Super, a gem of Japanese grocery shopping
With a name that translates to something like “commercial supermarket,” you might assume Gyomu is just a restaurant supply chain.
Health ministry officials and local authorities inspect a Kobayashi Pharmaceutical factory in Osaka on Saturday following reports of deaths and hospitalizations possibly linked to its red yeast rice dietary supplements.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 30, 2024
Kobayashi Pharma factory inspected amid red yeast rice pill scare
The factory in western Japan, which was making the ingredients of the supplements, shut down in December.

Longform

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores