Tainted Rice: How Did The Scandal Start To Unravel?
Consumers Union of Japan, Shodanren, and Shufuren are three of Japan's most experienced consumer organizations, together with new groups like Japan Offspring Fund. All are now up in arms, holding rallies downtown, at the revelation of the new food safety scandal, involving imports of so-called Minimum Access Rice, that proved to be contaminated with aflatoxin mold and illegal pesticides.
Thousands of people may have eaten this rice (sold to hospitals and nursing homes!). It was never intended for human consumption, but imported to be used for glue and other industrial products.
Japan agreed to the imports as part of the Uruguay Round of trade negotiations in the 1980s and early 1990s. Japan imports a certain amount of rice annually under a "Minimum Access" World Trade Organization accord. The World Trade Organization has indeed made consumer protection very, very difficult.
I am amazed by the scale of this scandal. It appears to me that the global food crisis earlier this year, when rice suddenly became very expensive on the Thai market, may have something to do with how Mikasa Food was caught in the act.
Earlier this year, we heard that Japan would release some of the imported rice the government keeps in storage. This would then "depress" the rice market, it was argued, and lower prices, as speculation would calm down.
Then nothing happened during the summer.
Japan did not sell any of its imported MA rice to other countries: none of it was exported. Why? No reasons have been forthcoming.
I bet they did a few checks, and noticed the high levels of aflatoxins and pesticide residue. And someone said: "Hey, we can't let anyone eat that stuff!"
Then it was revealed that people where indeed eating it, here in Japan...
The Japanese media is not very good at handling these huge scandals. While the Minister of Agriculture resigned, we have only rumours that, once again, a whistle-blower let the cat out of the bag. Well, I like that. As I have noted here on Kurashi, Japan's new whistle-blower protection legislation is a model for other countries to follow.
Consumers Union of Japan: Rice Scandal: Protest Declaration and Questions
Thousands of people may have eaten this rice (sold to hospitals and nursing homes!). It was never intended for human consumption, but imported to be used for glue and other industrial products.
Japan agreed to the imports as part of the Uruguay Round of trade negotiations in the 1980s and early 1990s. Japan imports a certain amount of rice annually under a "Minimum Access" World Trade Organization accord. The World Trade Organization has indeed made consumer protection very, very difficult.
I am amazed by the scale of this scandal. It appears to me that the global food crisis earlier this year, when rice suddenly became very expensive on the Thai market, may have something to do with how Mikasa Food was caught in the act.
Earlier this year, we heard that Japan would release some of the imported rice the government keeps in storage. This would then "depress" the rice market, it was argued, and lower prices, as speculation would calm down.
Then nothing happened during the summer.
Japan did not sell any of its imported MA rice to other countries: none of it was exported. Why? No reasons have been forthcoming.
I bet they did a few checks, and noticed the high levels of aflatoxins and pesticide residue. And someone said: "Hey, we can't let anyone eat that stuff!"
Then it was revealed that people where indeed eating it, here in Japan...
The Japanese media is not very good at handling these huge scandals. While the Minister of Agriculture resigned, we have only rumours that, once again, a whistle-blower let the cat out of the bag. Well, I like that. As I have noted here on Kurashi, Japan's new whistle-blower protection legislation is a model for other countries to follow.
Consumers Union of Japan: Rice Scandal: Protest Declaration and Questions
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