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Big in Japan: Deadly dumplings injure 175

by Matthew Firestone (RSS feed) on Feb 4th 2008 at 10:00AM

One of the many things that I've learned about the Japanese since moving to Tokyo is that they love to eat.

Of course, unlike Americans who seem to take extreme pleasure in enormous portion sizes of incredibly fatty food, the Japanese are much more refined in their culinary choices.

Indeed, Japanese society is structured around the fine art of sharing food with friends, which is perhaps one reason why the quality of meals over here is arguably the best in the world.

So, you can imagine the havoc that is spreading through Japan this week following the news that 175 people checked themselves into the hospital after dining on deadly dumplings.

How potentially deadly where the dumplings in question?

Well, not that deadly - unless of course you consider pesticides to be an acceptable condiment!

Delicious. Nothing like a few hundred milligrams of an insect-killing chemical concoction to cleanse the palatte and settle the stomach!

Jokes aside, the case of the deadly dumplings is actually an incredibly serious matter that might possibly endanger the future of Chinese-Japanese economic and political relations!

(I told you that eating was a very serious business in Japan!)

So, let's start off with something simple - what exactly is a dumpling?

Good question!

Dumplings in Japan are known as gyōza (餃子), and are generally comprised of some mystery blend of meat and vegetable that is wrapped into a thinly rolled and sealed piece of dough.

Gyoza are generally served with three dipping sauces - soy sauce, rice vinegar and hot chili sauce - though each gyoza aficionado generally mixes up their own special blend of the three.

Anyway, let's get back to the story....

Two weeks ago, the Chinese government launched a fourth-month campaign to eliminate "non-food materials'' from their food exports.

What exactly is a non-food material you ask? Well, simply put, anything that isn't a food material, like industrial dyes, pesticides and fungicides.

Getting hungry yet?

Despite this pledge however, Chinese-made dumplings containing pesticides sickened 175 Japanese, which has created a huge scandal that is impossible to ignore in a society that is borderline obsessed with their personal safety.

Last year, the Chinese exported a whopping US$56.7 billion of food to Japan, though analysts are warning that this lucrative industry is about to take a huge hit.

According to Minoru Morita, a Tokyo-based economist, "Japanese consumers, already distrustful of Chinese products, may stop buying them."

Just ask Hiroko Date, a 38-year-old mother of two in Tokyo: "It makes you scared to buy imported food -- you worry about your kids."

So, for the time being, it looks like there won't be too many plates of dumplings gracing the dinner tables of Japan for quite some time.

With that said, if you're reading this article somewhere across the Pacific Ocean in North America, you also probably might want to pass on any pre-packaged dumplings you might find at the local supermarket.

Sigh - looks like I might have to find another favorite drunk food, though fortunately ramen is still safe!

** The images of the delicious dumplings were courtesy of the Wikimedia Commons Project **

Gallery: Japanese Food

Filed under: Food and Drink, Asia, China, Japan, Big in Japan

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Reader Comments (Page 2 of 2)

Eliath Feb 4th 2008 11:49PM

Japanese food Is one of my favorite foods and I'm supprised to hear of such a health risk going on there! I live In Southern California, between Los Angeles/San Diego and Asian food Is abundant at any hour of the day. I've never had food poisioning but eating out anywhere we all are taking risk doing so. This case is extreme and I hope those people are okay. Stay away from dumplings for awhile, right!

Mea Feb 4th 2008 11:56PM

Last night my husband gave me some of his toothpaste to use and I cannot really say what the taste reminded me of in polite society, but I asked him about it and he said it was such a bargain; it was Colgate that he got for 99 cents a tube at the dollar store. I told him that some of that so-called "Colgate" was really made in China and you do not know what is in it. I'm buying my toothpaste in the real places that assure me it is made in the US and mine does not taste like, well, think of Monica Lewinsky and that should give you a hint. aaack.

Robbie Feb 4th 2008 11:59PM

I agree with the fact that they are trying to harm us. Lead paint on toys, date rape chemicals on childrens toys and now pesticides in the food. God Bless America! Maybe the government ought to think again about taking GOD out of everything-----money, schools and court houses. I guess God feels like, well America doesn't need me anymore so, I'll take my protection away from them and leave em alone to fight their own battles; however, I still .need God in my life everyday. I just happen to be an American.

SusieQ Feb 5th 2008 12:04AM

I would imagine that lots of Japanese folks would prepare their own gyoza since they are simple to prepare and steam, and they are a staple of Japanese cuisine. The homemade ones would most likely be safe. I'm not Japanese, but I make my own gyoza all the time. You can buy the wonton wrappers in any supermarket. The ingredients for the filling are not "mysterious" at all, but instead, fresh pork or chicken, finely diced napa cabbage, rice wine, soy sauce, fresh ginger and minced garlic.

Karen Beck Feb 5th 2008 12:12AM

The stuff China imports needs to be covered in lead paint,filled with poison and unsafely made. Give them back what they are giving the rest of the world. Don't let them take over by killing off large quantities of other populations (which is what they seem to be trying to do). Everyone should boycott everything made in China.

Dave Feb 5th 2008 1:42AM

I'm exporting chinese made toys in dumplings to china asap!

Dave Feb 5th 2008 1:44AM

I like your post SusieQ

jmr Feb 5th 2008 2:34AM

Seems to me that Chinese companies are just getting rid of their toxic waste by using it as filler in most of their exports. It's a systemic problem. The government doesn't care; just for one example, look at the unbelievable levels of pollution in the lakes...

jmr Feb 5th 2008 2:34AM

( ... as in, China is producing so very much toxic waste, and they are already drowning themselves in it, so now they just want to put it somewhere else, so they mix it in with just about everything they export, it looks like...)

I also look for that "made in China" tag, and don't buy anything that has it.

heckyeah Feb 5th 2008 2:50AM

I vote we all boycott everything from China. Be safe.

L Feb 5th 2008 3:29AM

China IS trying to control the world...and how better to do it by making your enemies sick? That would make it much easier for their armies to conquer future targets. What else does a country do with an entire generation of young men..and FEW young women?
Think about it.

Ted Feb 5th 2008 4:50AM

Could be part of an insidious Chinese plot to see what poison they can get away with and then sock it to the rest of the capitalist world! Remember - only eat at the Golden Arches 'cos that's good American cholesterol going into your veins. Paranoid - no, not me!
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Mark B. Feb 5th 2008 5:31AM

I wouldn't worry too much about this either. Everyone in Japan will stop buying Chinese-made gyoza for a couple weeks until it sounds good and no one has been reported sick for a while. All that has to happen is for the Chinese Govt. to announce that the products are safe and the Japanese consumers will buy them again. This happens every couple of months over here, and it doesn't make for much more than a gossip topic for the housewives and a 2-minute blurb on the evening news.