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The story
To mark “Frozen Food Day” on October 18, former TOKIO member Masahiro Matsuoka spoke passionately about the evolution of frozen food on his NACK5 radio show. Praising it as a godsend for people living alone with the enthusiastic line “I’m in such a good mood about it,” his comments drew a mix of agreement and skepticism on 5ch. While some posters praised the leaps made in frozen fried rice and pasta, others pointed out that repeated price hikes have eroded the sense of value, and still others voiced concerns about ingredient origins and additives — turning the thread from a simple quality debate into a wider discussion of the frozen food industry.
Masahiro Matsuoka Tips His Hat to Frozen Food’s Evolution — “A Godsend for Living Alone,” He Says: “I’m in Such a Good Mood About It”
Former TOKIO member Masahiro Matsuoka (49) appeared on NACK5’s “Masahiro Matsuoka’s Colorful Saitama Frontline” (Sundays at 7:00 a.m.), which aired on the 18th, and spoke enthusiastically about frozen food.
October 18 is “Frozen Food Day.” Matsuoka declared passionately, “This isn’t really my place to say, but the taste of frozen food these days is just incredible. Well, ‘incredible’ might be overstating it, but it really is surprising.”
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
I wonder which is better value, that or Nosh (a meal-delivery service)?
Assuming you still cook your own rice and omelette at least.
It's cheaper than making it yourself, and it saves the hassle too.
There's a ton listed after the slash in the ingredient label (Japan's labeling rules list additives after a "/" separator).
Probably some hardcore TOKIO fan who works as a freelance writer from home.
They transcribe every single comment Matsuoka makes on his radio show or late-night appearances into articles.
Read any of them and they're all paper-thin.
Before Nichirei's "Honkaku Chahan" (Authentic Fried Rice) came out, frozen fried rice basically tasted like plain seasoned rice, not actual fried rice.
Gyoza are about the only thing whose price hasn't really budged.
Fried rice has gone up a surprising amount though.
It's not just the price hikes — supermarkets have also basically stopped running big sales on them.
Up until a few years ago, they'd do "50% off all frozen food, limit 5 per customer" type deals.
I remember those prices, so if anything I've actually bought less frozen food since.
Frozen fried rice used to be a steal at under 300 yen.
Notice he doesn't praise the fried chicken.
Or the grilled fish.
So that's apparently the best he could come up with while trying so hard to find something to praise.
The power of chemistry.
That's why colon cancer is on the rise.
It's actually the opposite. Room-temperature and refrigerated food need additives because bacteria can grow at those temperatures.
Frozen food doesn't have that risk, so it actually needs fewer additives.
Matsuoka's always been a smooth talker.
He said all the right things during the Yamaguchi and Kokubun incidents too (references to past TOKIO member scandals).
He's been in the room with directors and TV writers since he was a teenager, so naturally his talking skills got polished.
Though if you listen calmly to what he's actually saying, there's not much substance there.
What about "Leader" (Shigeru Joshima's nickname) — isn't he still on DASH?
That show's still running?
As long as you're getting the fiber, that's good enough.
Apparently it's from "tō" (凍, "frozen") sounding like "10," plus minus 18°C or below being the quality-control standard for frozen storage.
I get the feeling, but Japanese vegetables exceed EU pesticide standards too, you know.
"Kamemaru Shomen" (sic — a jumbled version of "Marugame Seimen" in the original post) is all frozen food.
Even the free toppings — chopped green onion, grated ginger — are frozen too.
They're sourced from China, processed and frozen at a central kitchen, then shipped out.
At the stores, the process is basically set up so staff never need to use a knife.
Buying it frozen might actually be better value.
I wonder how it'd turn out if you just cut it up yourself and froze it?
Background and Key Points of This Discussion
“Frozen Food Day” falls on October 18, reportedly because — as pointed out in the thread — it combines the “tō” (凍) of “frozen” with “18,” the quality-control standard of -18°C or below. Opinion in the thread split between viewing frozen food as “loaded with additives and bad for you” versus “actually lower in additives than room-temperature or refrigerated food.” Since freezing suppresses microbial growth, it can reduce the need for preservative-type additives — but that’s a separate issue from additives used for coloring or seasoning, so neither view can be simplified as flatly correct. The sense that frozen food is “not as cheap as it used to be” is also backed by real data, not just nostalgia, given the recent string of price increases. The revelation that Marugame Seimen sources its ingredients frozen came as a surprise to many, though using a central-kitchen model with frozen ingredients is actually quite common across the restaurant chain industry.
*This article is composed from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Geino/Sports News+) thread “[Entertainment] Masahiro Matsuoka Tips His Hat to Frozen Food’s Evolution — “A Godsend for Living Alone,” He Says: “I’m in Such a Good Mood About It”.”
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