Food Labels in Japan!!

If you have been living in Japan or thinking of moving to Japan, reading food labels will become an important issue for you.  Food labels can vary.  However, they must contain the same content in terms of nutrition information.  Japanese food labels contain a lot of information.  Going to a Japanese grocery store can become an adventure if you cannot Japanese.  Do not worry though.  There is an excellent source on the web that you can use in order to decipher food labels.  Check out Surviving in Japan's post on food labels at http://www.survivingnjapan.com/2012/04/ultimate-guide-to-reading-food-labels.html

I do have some issues with Japanese food labels, though. 

First, Japan is nation that uses and eats fish and seafood product extensively.  However, most labels in Japan do not mention whether the fish was line caught or farmed raised.  If you want to support sustainable fishing and have health concerns. this should a little worrying for you.

The second problem that some people face in Japan is that the label does not include all of the ingredients in the product.  This can be problem if you are a vegan in Japan. Isitveganjapan.com did a great article on this issue.  Check it out at http://isitveganjapan.com/the-basics/reading-food-labels/

The third major problem when it comes to food labeling in Japan is the mislabeling of products in Japan.  Recently, this is a concern for many consumers because some companies were mislabeling their foods in order to make more money.  There was a really good article in the Wall Street journal about these concerns.  Here is the link to the article: http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304672404579183553783395392

Please be aware of these issues when going shopping at Japanese supermarkets.