Channel NewsAsia 3 Feb 08;
TOKYO: A nationwide alarm in Japan over toxic Chinese dumplings is a wake-up call for an agriculture policy that has left the nation at the mercy of imported food, analysts say.
Nearly 300 people have sought medical treatment, with one girl in serious condition, since a Japanese company last week said that frozen meat dumplings produced at a Chinese factory contained insecticide.
Major food makers ordered recalls of frozen and other prepared foods thought to have been produced at the Chinese factory as officials warned Beijing that it had to ensure food safety.
But the problem has also turned a spotlight on a harsh reality.
It is that Japan's food self-sufficiency -- the ratio of the nation's food intake that is produced at home -- is just 40 per cent, the lowest rate of any of the Group of Seven major developed countries.
"Japan's food industry can never stand on its own with no foreign products," said Kazumasa Niimi, a senior economist at Japan Research Institute, a Tokyo-based think tank.
"Even if there is concern about the safety of food from foreign countries, Japan cannot help but accept it in order to secure daily food demand in the country," Niimi said.
"People here may laugh at the terrible food situation in poor countries, but Japan's food situation could be just as dangerous in terms of food safety."
China, whose soaring economy has been hit by a series of safety scares over its exports, has said it found no pesticide in the dumplings, but promised an investigation.
In a reminder that nothing has been proven against the Chinese factory, Japanese police were also investigating a family's account that it found a tiny hole in the packaging of dumplings that made them sick.
The food scare, which has dominated headlines here for days, is nonetheless taking a toll on perception of Chinese imports.
"I'm scared to buy Chinese foods," said Yasuyo Sakata, a 36-year-old woman in Tokyo.
"Since the dumpling case, I've tried not to buy Chinese-made products but there's a limit," Sakata said. "Made-in-China products are everywhere. I don't think I can keep avoiding them."
Japan has set a goal of raising food self-sufficiency to 45 per cent in seven years and eventually to 50 per cent.
"We have long warned that heavy reliance on food supply from other countries would undermine the nation's food security, and this dumpling case could be a good example," a farm ministry official said.
"Japan has geographical limits in terms of agriculture but we have to make an effort to achieve balanced food supply," the official added, speaking on the customary condition of anonymity.
Japan developed into the world's second largest economy largely by focusing on manufacturing exports that require intricate skill such as cars, cameras and other electronics.
Beside the shift away from agriculture, food self-sufficiency has been hit by rapid changes in Japan's dietary habits, with younger people embracing Western-style foods and meat.
Rice consumption is going down even though the traditional food staple is heavily protected from foreign competition.
Niimi, the economist, said Japan may have also come to rely too much on China because its food is more cost-effective.
"Although it will take some time to specify the cause of this case, it could be a result of trading safety in return for saving costs," he said.
China is Japan's largest trading partner and its second biggest supplier of imported food after the United States.
Food imports from China in 2006 rose nine per cent year-on-year to 930 billion yen (8.8 billion US dollars), according to the finance ministry. Some 15 per cent was frozen foods.
"There is the possibility that companies will shift their production base to other countries so that they can disperse risks," said Toshiaki Yoshimura, an analyst on farm and food policies at the Institute for Policy Sciences in Tokyo.
"But there is no guarantee that the fundamental problem with food safety and security will be resolved, as the same problem may happen in other places," Yoshimura said.
"This is not only Japan's problem. It can happen to any country with a market-oriented economy."
Japan in 2003 banned imports of US beef due to a mad cow scare, setting off a long trade row between the close allies. While the imports have resumed, many consumers still shun US beef. - AFP/ac
