TOKYO, July 30 ― Japan is planning to extend best-before dates for pork products in a bit to boost chilled exports, informed sources have said. The agriculture and health miniseries have set up a panel to look at hygienic controls abroad and review guidelines for setting best-before dates. The first meeting of the panel was held on July 17, hearing from meat exporters. The move coincides with the Japanese government’s goal, which aims to expand pork export value at 1.2 billion yen, or equivalent to 1,000 metric tons, by 2019. Japan’s pork exports have been steadily increasingly over recent years, totaling 720 million yen, or 622 metric tons, in 2017. … Continue reading →

TOKYO, July. 8 ― Japan’s imports of shiitake spawn, which are essentially mushroom seeds, hit a record volume in 2017, official data have shown. Shiitake spawn imports to Japan rose 18% to 15,649 metric tons in 2017 from a year earlier, the finance ministry said. That was the 10th consecutive year of growth since 2008 and all imports were from China. The Edible Mushroom Spawn Association has estimated that shiitake grown from the imported mushroom spawn accounted for 7.5 percent of the Japanese total production volume in 2017. Shiitake are among the most popular of many varieties of mushrooms eaten by the fungi-mad Japanese. Each year, families and restaurants stew, … Continue reading →