Nuclear scare fails to dent UK sushi sales
Following European Commission advice – issued via the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed – to test radioactivity levels in Japanese food imports after problems at the Fukushima power plant, the FSA announced on March 23 that it would begin screening imports.
The agency said it would work with port health authorities and other government departments to screen Japanese food imports – mainly fish and shellfish – for radiation levels above legal limits, since radioactivity can occur naturally in food in minerals such as potassium.
Fears of damaged consumer perceptions
One purchasing manager for a large Japanese ingredient supplier told FoodManufacture.co.uk: “Our big fear is that thiswill damage perceptions amongst consumers, but there’s been no big movement so far. People are aware of the issue but it isn’t affecting their behaviour.
“We are struggling to import products from Japan, and await further clarification from the Japanese government on how to prove that our products are free from radiation.” He said his firm wanted suppliers to take responsibility for this issue.
“We still have stock from before March 11 and still expect more containers – shipped before then – to arrive. But talking afterwards, in May/June, then we will be struggling.”
He said one solution for his firm could involve sourcing products elsewhere, but, “as long as the EU doesn’t ban Japanese food imports then we plan to continue – since we are a Japanese ingredient supplier – although we have to be convinced that all our products are free from radiation”. He added that it was important that sauces in particular, such as Wasabi, were genuinely Japanese.
Are we talking Japanese?
The FSA said that only 0.1% of UK food imports are Japanese, and the manager said that many of his firm’s ‘Japanese’ products are Chinese, while its sushi toppings come from Thailand; similarly, the purchasing manager for another UK-based sushi producer estimated that only around 3% of his firm’s ingredients come from Japan.
Nonetheless, the latter said his firm had suffered from a couple of issues relating to the FSA’s screening programme and difficulties sourcing ingredients from Japan.
“The legislation was passed couple of weeks ago, but no provision was made in Japan for this in terms of issuing safety certificates,” he said. He added that his company finally got information from the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) the day before yesterday about who it should be speaking to in Japan on this issue.
His other worry centred on UK radioactivity tests, since it would take three weeks for these to occur and results to come back, lengthening supply chains to 6-10 weeks and leading to uncertainty regarding stocks.
On a more positive note he said his firm had suffered, “no negative feedback, beyond a couple of enquiries about safety from customers, and I haven’t noticed any negative effect on sales. Quite the opposite, in fact”.
Moreover, given that all his firm’s fish, for instance, was sourced from Norway, he said: “If push came to shove then we could cut out Japan altogether, but we’d prefer not to for the sake of supplying a more genuine product,” he said.
May hit small restaurants and retailers
The md of a third food manufacturer – which sells sushi to retailers, airlines and hotels – said he thought the small restaurant and retail trade would be the principal victims of UK import controls, due to problems sourcing specialist ingredients.
He was also relieved that consumer confidence seemed unshaken as yet: “There are no indications that consumers are going off Japanese food. I was expecting a flood of enquiries and had planned to send an email out to customers saying that, for instance, we source fish from Scotland and Norway. But to be honest we haven’t really had any enquiries.”
