Food safety in the news: Tsukasa Abe

Tsukasa Abe is a food writer who made waves a few years ago with his book about the chemical additives and preservatives used in so much we buy from shops and convenience stores. The Japan Times notes that in the 1980s, he was a top salesman for a food-additive trading firm:

One day, during a rare meal at home, he was horrified to see his daughter eating his own company's additive-soaked meatballs. The experience changed his life. Quitting his job the next day, he began lecturing and writing against the evils he had been blindly perpetrating.

His book "Shokuhin no Uragawa ("The Far Side of Foodstuffs") has sold 600,000 copies.

Companies must list additives on packaging, but Abe warns there may still be extra ingredients in a product that aren't declared. He cited as an example barbecue sauce in which soy sauce is part of the ingredients. If the soy sauce contains additives, they don't have to be on the label.

While people may be tempted to fault the manufacturers, Abe said consumers are also to blame.

"Japanese are the most picky consumers in the world. Food must be readily available, look immaculate, last a long time and be inexpensive. If a slight defect is found in one of 5,000 'bento' (boxed meals), the whole lot must be recalled," he said. "Makers are forced to use additives to fulfill these requirements."

I don't agree - makers are not forced to use additives at all. What they should do is to think of products that don't need the long shelf-life, and make simpler stuff with less complicated ingredients. For example, Seven Eleven uses no preservatives in their own-label foods after a similar debate in 2001. Still, they sell a lot of other junk with additives, artificial sweeteners and "flavour enhancers" such as amino acids (MSG). Anyway, I'm always glad to see these issues getting attention in the media.

Ingredients to avoid: アミノ酸など (Japanese: Amino-san nado, English: Amino acids etc.)

The Japan Times: Ex-additive salesman warns of hidden dangers