VOX POPULI: Government needs to adopt stricter food safety standards
Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a daily column that runs on Page 1 of the vernacular Asahi Shimbun.
2011/05/08
In the novel "Botchan" by Soseki Natsume (1867-1916), there is a scene where the protagonist and his colleague, Yama-arashi, dine together on sukiyaki. The beef needs to be simmered in the pot at the table, but the protagonist, being a typical impatient Edokko (Tokyoite), starts digging in before the meat is fully cooked. Yama-arashi, who is from Aizu (present-day western Fukushima Prefecture) and more laid back, admonishes him: "Hey, that meat isn't done yet. You're going to get a tapeworm from that."
Whether his ominous pronouncement was justified or not, it is a fact that there were no refrigerators in Soseki's time. When it came to eating perishables, people must have been much more careful than we are today. In fact, there were all sorts of sayings back then--now practically obsolete--that warned people to watch out for food spoilage. For instance, "saba no ikigusare" (literally "live, rotting mackerel") and "natsu no iwashi" (summer sardine) implied that fish spoiled faster than people thought.
I was reminded of these expressions as well as the scene from Soseki's novel by the recent string of food poisoning cases at a chain of yakiniku restaurants. Four people have died from eating "yukhoe" or seasoned raw beef, and more than 20 taken violently ill. With police now investigating the restaurants, the public’s faith in the safety of this popular delicacy has been badly shaken.
Restaurants are allowed to serve raw meat so long as they prepare it according to the government’s sanitation standards. And the government merely "instructs" restaurants to follow these standards, and there are no penalties for noncompliance. Since what goes on in the kitchen is unknown to customers and health authorities, some restaurants have apparently become lax with the standards.
Although government regulations alone do not ensure food safety, the food poisoning cases are another sobering reminder that we should never take safety of any kind for granted.
Traditionally, "fugu" (pufferfish) has topped the list of food one eats at one's own risk. Considered a great delicacy, many gourmets find it irresistible, even though it contains deadly tetrodotoxins that must be carefully removed before contaminating the meat. A haiku by Sojo Hino (1901-1956) goes: "I'm a boy/ I bet my life on fugu."
But yakiniku is something people enjoy with family and friends, and nobody's "courage" should be tested by it.
Back to the sukiyaki scene in Soseki's novel. The protagonist shrugs aside Yama-arashi's caution and replies, "It's probably going to be all right."
That's his decision, and I'm fine with that. But it's not fine if a restaurant or the government makes that decision for me. The government must take the "probably" out of the equation at once.
--The Asahi Shimbun, May 7
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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.
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