How Junk Food Makes It Into Japanese Emergency Rations
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With the recent 10th anniversary of the Tohoku earthquake and another bit quake to keep Japan on its toes, emergency survival food is back on our minds.
When you think of emergency rations or survival food, you might imagine plastic packages of just-add-water instant rice, pouches of food or energy bars made for camping, or military rations filled with mystery meat and bread that never goes bad. As a country of earthquakes, many households keep an emergency bag easily accessible in case of a natural disaster, and fill it with first-aid along with non-perishable food items, which are often made for emergency situations.
Seaweed & salt potato chips, however, aren't usually what we think of as survival rations. This particular flavor of potato chip is one of the most common in Japan, available at every convenience store or supermarket, and easily one of the most popular varieties of junk food.
And yet, a run of 1,500 bags of the very same seaweed & salt potato chips were recently released in special "disaster prevention" packaging. The bags forgo the snack's regular colorful decoration, instead using a silver bag with a large square label, prominently featuring a QR code for a disaster prevention info page and the logo of Tokyo's Itabashi Ward. Next to the potato chip logo is the phrase "snack foods are also disaster prevention snacks!"
These chips are part of a new project put together by the Itabashi Ward Office, Koikeya (who make the potato chips), and researchers at Tokyo Kasei University, and when you hear the reasoning explained it seems reasonable. "Since potato chips are made of potatoes, oil, and salt, they're actually excellent sources of energy and even nutrition," say project leaders. "In addition, since the shelf life is relatively long (6 months), potato chips work well as rolling stock." They explained that rolling stock is when you regularly consume and replenish a stockpile of food, so there's always emergency food available but it doesn't sit around for years.
But potato chips aren't the only option when it comes to snack-food-turned-emergency-food. Imuraya is a Japanese sweets manufacturer known for their red bean "yokan", and in recent years they've been developing this dessert into a product that works as survival food. Yokan is a traditional dessert made with red beans, sugar, and agar, and sold in firm jelly-like blocks, so between the beans and the sugar, it would certainly give you some energy amid a natural disaster!
When Imuraya released a chocolate and red bean yokan with an extended shelf life in 2008, it sold 30 million units, and since then they've managed to extend the shelf life even further―from three and a half years to five and a half―without affecting the flavor. Marketing the yokan as ideal emergency food, they've also been careful not to include any of Japan's 28 common food allergens. The packaging includes a holographic "備" ("prep") meant to make it easy to find in dimly lit conditions, and more importantly, they say that the packaging is easy to understand even for those non-Japanese speakers.
Whether "eiyo-kan azuki-beans power" is actually very meaningful for an English speaker or not is certainly up for debate.
But food is food and nutrition is nutrition, whether the packaging makes sense or not. It's certainly a clear case of dessert-turned-ration.
In Japan, where large-scale natural disasters like floods, earthquakes, and tsunamis are a part of life, even your average citizen is much more conscious of disaster prep than in other parts of the world. While we hope that a disaster on the scale of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake will never happen again, we can certainly do our best to prepare just in case, and if that involves seaweed & salt potato chips, all the better!
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NAME:Emergency Preparedness
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Osaka is known for friendly (and funny) people, but its history is nothing to laugh at, playing a major part in Toyotomi Hideyoshi's 16th century unification of Japan. Thanks to long years of economic activity, it's one of Japan's biggest cities, and Osaka's popular food culture earned it the nickname "The Kitchen of the Nation." To this day Osaka is the model of western Japan, and alongside historic structures like Osaka Castle, it also has major shopping malls like Umeda's Grand Front Osaka and Tennoji's Abeno Harukas. Osaka is a place to eat, eat, eat, with local specialties like takoyaki, okonomiyaki, and kushi-katsu, and for extra fun, it's home to Universal Studios Japan.
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The Chugoku Region (中国地方) consists of five prefectures: Hiroshima, Okayama, Shimane, Tottori, and Yamaguchi. In Chugoku you’ll find the sand dunes of Tottori, and Hiroshima’s atomic bomb site, plus centers of ancient history like Grand Shrine of Izumo.
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KYUSHU
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Located in the most southwestern part of Japan, Kyushu (九州) is an island of 7 prefectures: Fukuoka, Saga, Nagasaki, Kumamoto, Oita, Miyazaki, and Kagoshima. The island's unique culture has been influenced by Chinese and Dutch trade, along with missionaries coming in through Nagasaki's port. Modern-day travelers love the lush natural scenery and fresh food, plus the natural hot springs found all throughout the area (thanks to volcanic activity)!
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FUKUOKA
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Fukuoka Prefecture has the highest population on the southern island of Kyushu, with two major cities: Fukuoka and Kitakyushu. Thanks to growing transportation networks, Fukuoka is more accessible than ever, and so are the many local attractions. On top of historical spots like Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine, travelers shouldn't miss Fukuoka's food scene, with motsu nabe (offal hotpot), mentaiko (spicy cod roe), and famous Hakata ramen―best eaten from a food stall in the Nakasu area of Hakata. Plus, it's full of all sorts of destinations for travelers, like trendy shopping centers, and the beautiful nature of Itoshima and Yanagawa.
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KAGOSHIMA
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Kagoshima Prefecture played a major role in Japan's modernization as a backdrop for famous historical figures like samurais Saigo Takamori and Okubo Toshimichi, who pushed Japan out of the Edo era and into the Meiji. Because of that, Sengan-en Garden is just one of many historical destinations, and when it comes to attractions Kagoshima has plenty: the active volcano of Sakurajima, popular hot springs Ibusuki Onsen and Kirishima Onsen, World Heritage Site Yakushima Island, even what Japan calls the "island closest to heaven," Amami Oshima. Kagoshima might be found on the very southernmost tip of the southern island of Kyushu, but there's plenty to see.
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OKINAWA
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The island chain of Okinawa (沖縄) makes up the southernmost tip of Japan, which is why it's also the most tropical area in the country. Thanks to a history of independence and totally distinct political and cultural events, Okinawa has a unique culture, and remnants of the Ryukyu Kingdom are still visible all over the islands. Food, language, traditional dress, it's all a little different! It's also said to be the birthplace of karate.
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