Big in Japan: Eating Mozzarella cheese can kill you

by Matthew Firestone on

Forgive the sensational title of today’s blog, but I am a serious foodie when it comes to all things Italian…

After all, few things in life hit the spot quite like an authentic Italian antipasto of parma ham, buffalo mozzarella and marinated red peppers.

So, you can imagine my shock and surprise when I discovered that my local supermarket here in Tokyo was no longer selling mozzarella cheese.

After making this horrific discovery, I quickly asked the store clerk where I could find this necessary ingredient for my antipasto in the making.

What was their response you ask?

Well, quite simply that Japan has decided to ban all imports of Italian buffalo mozzarella cheese following the discovery of high levels of dioxin in the cheese.

Yikes!

(Interestingly enough, the store clerk then recommended that I try using sharp cheddar cheese instead of mozzarella in my antipasto!)

Anyway, turns out that as of yesterday, the Japanese Ministry of Health has been impounding all shipments of this delicious cheese after South Korean officials discovered 29 toxic samples.

Dioxin, which is an extremely potent carcinogen, hit the headlines a few years back following the alleged poisoning of Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko.

Needless to say, this is not the kind of chemical you want on your dinner plate!

Last month, Chinese-made dumplings containing pesticides sickened 175 Japanese, which launched the issue of food safety and security into the public spotlight.

Culturally, the Japanese are incessant gourmands, so issues concerning food contamination are not taken lightly here in the Land of the Rising Sun.

So, following a rash of food poisonings in neighboring South Korea, the Japanese government was quick to act.

Each year, Italy produces 33,000 tons of mozzarella, and exports 16 percent of that (or approximately 329 tons) to Japan.

So, given that there are batches of killer cheese floating around South Korea, which imports a mere 10 tons of the gooey product, the Japanese public is applauding the government’s foresight.

Of course, the Italian government is less than happy as of recent.

Paolo Minster De Castro, Italy’s agriculture minister, is in talks with Japanese, South Korean and European Union officials on the issue.

At an emergency summit in Rome, the Italian health ministry admitted that traces of carcinogenic dioxins had been discovered at some farms in Campania.

Health officials previously stated that herds of water buffalo, whose milk is used to make the cheese, could be ingesting poisons from illegally dumped rubbish.

Dioxins are usually released when plastic is burnt, though they can also seep into groundwater from decomposing rubbish.

However, the Italian government is fiercely denying that the dioxin in the buffalo mozzarella comes from improperly disposed garbage.

In fact, the Italian health ministry even went as far as to reassure the public that the problems were “limited and contained.”

For those of you living in Japan, my suggestion is to pass on mozzarella for awhile, even though the problem has thus far been limited to the buffalo variety.

And, for anyone living over in America who is fond of Italian food, perhaps you might want to consider going out for Thai this week.

** All images courtesy of the WikiCommons Media Project **

“Bizarre Foods” on the Travel Channel: Season 2, Episode 4 recap

by Aaron Hotfelder on

Location: Andrew‘s adopted home state of Minnesota, where he’s lived for 16 years.

Episode Rating: 3 Sheep Testicles (out of 4)

Summary: Andrew heads to tiny Cyrus, Minnesota, for a supper at a senior center-slash-diner. On the menu is a Scandinavian dish called lutefisk, which is cod that’s prepared with powdered lye and resembles a slab of see-through fish gelatin. Perhaps the only thing more translucent than the lutefisk was the skin of the two women Andrew was dining with, who were a combined 193-years-old.

After his trip to Cyrus, Andrew heads to the Minnesota state fair near St. Paul, where he samples deep-fried Spam nuggets and every food that can conceivably be served on a stick, including spaghetti-and-meatballs and a reuben. In Andrew’s conversations with fellow fair-goers, one can hear more “oot’s” and “aboot’s” than in an NHL locker room.

After the state fair, Andrew heads to a “meat raffle,” which sounds like something that might happen at a bachelorette party, but is actually just a raffle for meat. As Andrew explains: “Buy a ticket. Spin the wheel. Win a pot roast.” Sadly, our host didn’t have much success at the ol’ meat raffle: “Fifteen spins of the wheel, 122 dollars later, and I’m still a big loser.”

It wouldn’t be an episode of Bizarre Foods if Andrew didn’t eat some testicles, and in this episode it’s those of a wild boar. “Fabulous,” he declares.

Finally, Andrew heads to the White Earth Re-Discovery Center to harvest some wild rice, and then goes up to a small northern Minnesota town and samples some sauerkraut pie at– where else– Betty’s Pies.

Bizarre Foods: Spaghetti-and-Meatballs On A Stick; Lutefisk; Deer Heart; Pig Toe; Fish Eyes; Deep-fried Spam Nuggets, Chicken Gizzards, A “Goober Burger”– A Hamburger Topped with Peanut Butter and Mayo; Herring Row (mmm!)

For more on this episode, check out Andrew’s blog here.

What David Letterman wants to know about Anthony Bourdain and weird food

by Jamie Rhein on

As soon as Anthony Bourdain of “No Reservations” sat down on David Letterman’s TV show couch, I perked up wondering what Letterman would dish out about the food Bourdain eats on his travels since Justin asked Bourdain some questions last June in a Talking Travel interview. Here are highlights of Letterman’s banter.

“Do you get sick? Get hepatitis? Throw up?” asked Letterman.

“Only twice,” said Bourdain. “I got sick in France from too much of a good thing. . . and from the business end of a warthog.” The warthog was a food he chewed on in the Kalahari. He said any other sickness that led to an up close and personal experience with a bathroom’s cold tile floor has come from imbibing on too much alcohol.

“Humans can eat about anything?” Letterman leaned in for a response.

“I don’t recommend chicken nuggets,” quipped Bourdain and went on to say that when traveling, he’s found that whenever someone says, “We have something very special for you,” be wary. Such was the case when he downed the still beating heart of a cobra, an event Letterman asked him about. A delicacy in Vietnam, the cobra’s heart is supposed to be a real libido boost.

“It’s like eating an angry athletic oyster,” said Bourdain after describing how it’s removed from the cobra right in front of the person who will be dining on it. In this case, him. Hint: swallow it whole.

As for how to avoid raising a picky eater, Bourdain said that there will be no grilled cheese sandwich with the crusts cut off for his daughter. She’s already eating prosciutto flavored baby food and from what he said, she’ll be on a first name basis with the best sushi chefs. Bourdain, at age 51, is a fairly recent first time father. I wonder if this means the cobra thing works? Actually, Bourdain is a very charming, funny guy so I’d say that has something to do with it.

“No Reservations” is on the Travel Channel and Gadling is going to be there watching Boudain in his travels and taking notes.

America’s still fattest, but Mexico is catching up

by Aaron Hotfelder on

Less than 20 years ago, the problem facing Mexico wasn’t an overweight population, but one plagued by hunger. Today, Mexico rivals only the US in the percentage of obese citizens, with a new survey revealing that 71% of Mexican women and 66% of Mexican men are overweight.

Diabetes is now the leading cause of death in Mexico, responsible for roughly 70,000 deaths each year. The rise in obesity has been blamed largely on the proliferation of soft drinks, fast food, and increasingly sedentary lifestyles, three things I’ve always thought of as being “as American as apple pie”– a telling expression.

Mexican health officials fear that, if the current trend continues, Mexico will overtake the United States’ current role as the fattest nation in the world. I can just see Lou Dobbs having a field day with this information: “Mexicans are once again taking a position that should be held by Americans.”

More here, and my apologies to the boys in the photograph.

City panel rules on “Speak English” sign: No hay problema

by Aaron Hotfelder on

A couple months ago, Abha brought you the story of a famous cheesesteak shop in Philadelphia which featured a sign that said, “This is America: When Ordering Please Speak English.” Interest in that post was, shall we say, robust, generating almost 600 comments.

Now, a Philadelphia city panel has ruled that the sign posted by the owner of Geno’s, Joe Vento, was not discriminatory. According to MSNBC, “Commissioners Roxanne E. Covington and Burt Siegel voted to dismiss the complaint, finding that the sign does not communicate that business will be ‘refused, withheld or denied.'”

Critics of the sign say that it discouraged certain groups of people from eating at Geno’s, as the sign was posted directly above another sign stating, “Management Reserves the Right to Refuse Service.”

But Vento said that the sign was never meant to be offensive, and that he never refused serving anyone who couldn’t speak English. Though he doesn’t deny that, occasionally, his non-English speaking customers would “accidentally” get the wrong order.

Said the triumphant shop owner: “I always believed in my heart I was going to win from the giddyup.”

More here.