· October, 2008

Stories about Food from October, 2008

Japan: Why is Halloween not popular in Japan?

  30 October 2008

id:nakakzs writes about the lack of interest in Halloween among Japanese people [ja] compared to other imported holidays such as Christmas and Valentine's Day, noting that many people only know that Halloween takes place “sometime in autumn”. id:nakakzs traces the lack of popularity to a number of factors: bad timing...

Japan: Refunds from Saizeriya

  29 October 2008

News that Saizeriya [ja], a Japanese restaurant chain offering low-cost Italian food, is offering refunds for people who ate pizza with melamine-tainted dough — without asking for receipts — has sparked some people who never ate any of the tainted dough to take up the restaurant's offer anyway [ja]. At...

China: Quiet at Melamine tainted-eggs

  28 October 2008

David Bandurski from China media project notices how the mainstream media in China are quiet about the melamine tainted-eggs issue even though the government stressed its determination on securing food safety.

Malaysia: Era of contaminated food

  25 October 2008

After the China milk scandal, Jewelle notes that in Malaysia some popular food brands are also allegedly contaminated. Are we living in the era of contaminated food?

Barbados: Retail Prices

  22 October 2008

Barbados Underground thinks that consumers are being taken for a ride by retailers: “The time for bold strategies to tackle the issue of providing reasonably priced food to our PEOPLE has come.”

Japan: Reaction to Asahi article on supermarket inspection

  19 October 2008

An article in the Asahi Shimbun [ja] about a visit by Japanese prime minister Taro Aso to a Shinjuku supermarket has been taken up on 2-Channel [ja]. Aso reportedly visited the supermarket to inspect rising food prices, and then proceeded to have dinner at the (very luxurious) Imperial Hotel. As...

Iran: No World record sandwich for Iran

  17 October 2008

Biseda, an Iranian blogger, has published a couple of photos of a 1,500m (4,920ft) long sandwich made of ostrich meat.The crowd started attacking the sandwich before any of the three Guinness representatives present had the chance to confirm its length. The blogger says these people are hungry and do not...

Jamaica: Financial Crisis

  15 October 2008

A Fe Me Page Dis Iyah says that Jamaica will feel the effects of the global financial crisis primarily through remittances and tourism: “What Jamaica needs to do is produce more of the food we eat and cut down spending on luxurious foreign items and this will offset any reduction...

Jamaica, Haiti: Blogging about Poverty

  15 October 2008

“One of the remarkable consequences of blogging is that people of like minds can join together to raise the global consciousness about a particular issue”: Jamaican Geoffrey Philp uses his blogging powers to draw attention to the poverty in Haiti.

Trinidad & Tobago: Down in the Valley

  14 October 2008

“The warnings are there, too many to ignore…people better start waking up. Better rebuild their community parlours and their sou sous and their gayaps. In the panic of markets and the trillions of debt and the excess of luxury, countries like Trinidad and Tobago…with so much for sale, will suffer...

Cuba: Imprisoned

  14 October 2008

Diaspora blogger Uncommon Sense calls Cuba the “concentration camp of the Caribbean”, while Havana-based Generation Y blogs about the rise of prices on the informal food market, saying: “These days, chanting ‘Eeee-eeeggs’ may be more dangerous than chanting anti-government slogans. OK, let’s not exaggerate, opinion has always been punished more.”

Jamaica: Guineps

  13 October 2008

Moving Back to Jamaica features a post by Susan Warmington about Guineps, a local fruit: “Do you remember how that Guinep sounds when you bite into it? The delicious crack that it makes as the crisp skin gives way under your teeth? That flavor cannot truly be compared to any...

Guyana: Economic Woes

  13 October 2008

Guyana-Gyal has found a way to fend off her worries “about this melt-down goin’ around, how it gon affect we the people in Guyana.”