A Daily Shincho article has revealed the origins of the vegetables used by restaurant chains. While yakitori chain Torikizoku responded that its vegetables, chicken, and pickles are all domestically sourced, it turned out that Kushikatsu Tanaka and Uotami — while not using Chinese-grown napa cabbage — do use many other Chinese-grown vegetables. On 5ch, the thread saw estimates that a meal made entirely with domestic vegetables would cost over 2,000 yen, arguments that it’s odd to single out vegetables when chicken, pork, and beef are already predominantly imported, and debate over the safety of Chinese-grown vegetables themselves.
(Excerpt)
Torikizoku, a yakitori chain that operates stores across Asia and even in North America, notes on its official website that “(processed foods) … the food ingredients used may include those sourced from overseas,” but nonetheless stated that “vegetables, chicken, and side dishes like pickles are all domestically sourced.”
Meanwhile, Kushikatsu Tanaka and Uotami — whose signs are a common sight in entertainment districts — both reported not using Chinese-grown napa cabbage, but did use a wide variety of other Chinese-grown vegetables as ingredients.
Source: dailyshincho.jp / Original article here
Domestic carrots are about 80 yen apiece too.
Even after paying steep shipping costs to import from China, is it actually cheaper than that?
"That'll push each meal over 2,000 yen."
Then none of you would actually go, would you?
China's population should've dropped to like 100 million by now.
Cancer rates in China are abnormally high in certain regions.
It's not that they're using instantly lethal poisons — the problem is chemicals that build up in the body and cause illness years or decades later.
The kind of dubious, maybe-never-actually-inspected products ordinary Chinese citizens buy at street stalls or supermarkets are things senior Communist Party officials would never eat themselves; separately produced, safety-guaranteed food exists just for them.
Some ordinary citizens aren't stupid either, which is why foreign-capital supermarkets with strict inspection standards have become popular.
It's local production for local consumption.
For food eaten locally, you don't need preservatives or coloring.
The risky stuff is the export-grade produce, which has to look good to sell — and because it's for export, preservatives get added so it can survive the long haul in transit.
Ringer Hut switched to domestic back in the Heisei era, but the locations near me have all disappeared lol
Yoshinoya mixes in Calrose rice though, right?
Well, of course it is — what else would you expect?
So you're eating Chinese vegetables knowing full well what they are?
Even fukujinzuke (pickled relish) uses Chinese vegetables.
I'd avoid it if I could, but sometimes you have no choice but to eat out, so it can't be helped.
If you worried about every little thing like that, you'd never be able to eat out at all.
Convenience store fried chicken is probably from Brazil or Thailand too.
Must be turning a profit somehow.
"Is Chinese-grown produce dangerous?"
"It's not accurate to say Chinese vegetables are 'all dangerous,' but given past pesticide issues and recent reports of illegal formaldehyde use on napa cabbage, there are aspects that raise concern from a risk-management standpoint."
Though I don't really eat out anyway.
Seafood mix in particular — you really shouldn't buy that stuff.
For some reason squid is like 100% Chinese-sourced, isn't it?
There are products that advertise being entirely domestic too — they just cost about twice as much as the Chinese versions.
Wait, isn't this about eating out?
Background and key points of this discussion
At Japanese restaurants, the country-of-origin labeling requirements mandatory for fresh produce at retail generally don’t apply — it’s left up to each company to voluntarily disclose the information or not. The article behind this discussion was likewise based on interviews with and voluntary responses from each chain. Opinions on the thread split over whether to prioritize price or safety: some pointed out that insisting on domestic vegetables would sharply raise the cost of eating out, while others held firm that they wanted to avoid Chinese-grown vegetables altogether due to concerns over pesticide residue and additives. It’s also worth noting that every company added the caveat that processed foods may contain overseas-sourced ingredients, meaning the country of origin can vary by store or menu item. Some posts in the thread also touched on consumption patterns within China and the diets of Communist Party officials, but these reflect individual posters’ personal accounts rather than claims backed by public verification.
*This article is compiled as an excerpt and summary of the 5ch (Hello! Project board) thread “[Shocking] Apparently Most of the Vegetables Used at Famous Restaurant Chains Are Chinese-Grown.”
