Japan Food Service Journal articles from July 2002

Japan Food Service Journal archives from July 2002

Unapproved additive from Kyowa Koryo Kagaku pops up all over.(Brief Article)
July 25, 2002... An unapproved food additive made by Kyowa Koryo Kagaku has shown up in packaged meals at Seven-Eleven convenience stores and in nutritional foods like the Healthy Balance brand from Yamanouchi Pharmaceutical. Such companies have started...

Imperial Hotel, New Otani, Okura report fiscal results.(Brief Article)
July 25, 2002... The slide in business at Imperial Hotel and New Otani after last year's terrorist events has finally turned around, but the recovery at Okura Hotels & Resorts has been slower. That was the message in the annual reports of the three...

Reins International accelerates overseas yakiniku restaurant chain.(Brief Article)
July 25, 2002... Reins International is planning to increase its number of overseas outlets of yakiniku (grilled meat) chain Gyu-Kaku. The company has decided to open more restaurants overseas since the first overseas Gyu-Kaku restaurant in Los Angeles...

Starbucks Coffee Japan sells bread products with cooperation of baking company Andersen.
July 25, 2002... Starbucks Coffee Japan will sell bread products such as sandwiches, croissants and pastry made especially for the chain by baking company Andersen. Starbucks is trying to strengthen its food menu and has decided to work with Andersen since...

WDI opens Sydney cuisine restaurant.(Brief Article)
July 25, 2002... WDI, which operates Italian restaurant Capricciosa among others, has opened a restaurant featuring the cuisine of Sydney, popular in Europe and the US. Sydney cuisine uses vegetables and seafood with simple flavorings. Health conscious...

Ootoya sells packed meals at Odakyu Electric Railway station.(Brief Article)
July 25, 2002... Ootoya, a set meal chain, has started offering packed meals at the convenience store Food and Heart (managed by Odakyu Electric Railway) in Odakyu's Machida station This experimental business is the first time for the company to sell packed...

Morozoff opens new shop under new brand name in Kobe.(Brief Article)
July 25, 2002... Morozoff has opened its first shop called Alex & Michael, a Western confectionery brand, in Kobe. Alex & Michael has previously been a brand for the Valentine's Day season only. The Alex & Michael brand products have been very popular among...

Nisshin Flour Milling sells pizza dough and gas oven as set.
July 25, 2002... Nisshin Flour Milling has started selling Napoli Pizza Tenkai System, a set product combining frozen pizza dough and a gas oven. The company aims to expand demand of wheat flour for meals. The company's subsidiary Fresh Food System does the...

Bashamichi opens new pub restaurants.(Brief Article)
July 25, 2002... The Bashamichi restaurant chain has started new pub restaurants called Tokujuan that focus on private rooms. The first Tokujuan was opened in December 2001 with 21 private rooms and 129 seats. The second has nine private rooms and 222 seats....

Italian restaurant chain Saizeriya offers lower priced menu.(Brief Article)
July 25, 2002... Saizeriya has started a new menu with lower prices. Customers can have dinner for about 1000 yen. The new menu includes steak (680 yen), cooked cubed beef (580 yen), barbecued lamb (580 yen), beef stroganoff (680 yen) and meatballs (480 yen)....

Pizza home delivery chain Strawberry Cones starts new system for franchisees.(Brief Article)
July 25, 2002... Pizza home delivery chain Strawberry Cones has started a new system for encouranging new franchise shops. The company pays the preliminary investment costs such as those of the store and kitchen equipment and collects the cost from sales...

Kagetsu Shokuhin opens new dining bar restaurant.(Brief Article)
July 25, 2002... Kagetsu Shokuhin, which operates ramen noodle chain Ninniku Genkotsu Ramen Kagetsu, has opened the first dining bar-style restaurant Be Eat with 30 kinds or cocktails along with ramen and dim sum in Roppongi, Tokyo. The company plans to open...

Restaurant chain Pietro opens takeout food shop.(Brief Article)
July 25, 2002... Restaurant chain Pietro has opened takeout food shop Mio Mio in Tokyo. The company has been operating two takeout food shops in Fukuoka City on an experimental basis. The new shop offers salad pasta (a popular selection at Pietro restaurant...

Major pub chain Yoronotaki opens Chinese restaurant.(Brief Article)
July 25, 2002... Yoronotaki, a major pub chain, has opened Yanron, its first Chinese restaurant (76 seats) in Daiba Sho Hong Kong (little Hong Kong), Tokyo. It offers about 80 menu items (200 to 480 yen) from hors d'?uvres and dim sum to noodles. The drink...

First Kitchen opens Japanese fast food shops.(Brief Article)
July 25, 2002... First Kitchen has opened its first Japanese fast food shop Onigiri Kitchen Om's in Tokyo with 40 seats. It plans to open two to five more shops in Tokyo. Onigiri is a rice ball that is a traditional Japanese food. The company offers more than...

Fujiya starts cafe business.(Brief Article)
July 25, 2002... Fujiya has started a cafe business and restructured its restaurant business. The company has opened Cafe 364 Jours (Mirafajuru) in Ginza and Akasaka, Tokyo. Mirafajuru is named hoping the customers visit the cafe 364 days of the year, every...

Surugaya combines pork cutlet restaurant with coffee shop.(Brief Article)
July 25, 2002... Following up on a successful experiment in Singapore, Surugaya has opened a new shop that is both a pork cutlet restaurant and coffee shop. The new Romankan Yokohama is the first of several new shops that Surugaya plans to open at the rate of...

Italian-affiliated e Group launches chain of authentic espresso shops.(Brief Article)
July 25, 2002... The e Group, an alliance of such well-known Italian firms as Ferrari and Benetton, recently opened an espresso cafe in Sendai to coincide with the stay of the Italian national soccer team in that city during the World Cup. The outlet of the e...

Itochu, Excite Japan design Internet cafe for women.(Brief Article)
July 25, 2002... Trading company Itochu and its subsidiary Excite Japan, operator of the Internet portal Excite in Japan, are building a broadband Internet cafe specifically for women. The Woman Excite Cafe in the Yurakucho Seibu department store in Tokyo...

New Otani system recycles kitchen waste into feed then food.(Hotel New Otani Makuhari installs recycling equipment)(Brief Article)
July 25, 2002... The Hotel New Otani Makuhari has installed self-developed equipment that processes the hotel's kitchen waste, drying it and reducing its volume by 80%. The material is then shipped out to be converted into chicken feed. Operator New Otani...

Restaurant chains responding to food recycling law.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 25, 2002... Japan's food recycling law, which obliges food businesses to reduce their food waste by 20% by FY2006, has begun motivating large restaurant chains into action. A joint venture of Watami Food Service, Kentucky Fried Chicken Japan, MOS Food...

Tokyu Hotel Management offers room with Miffy character theme.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 25, 2002... Seeking to lure more young women and families with young children, Tokyu Hotel Management has redecorated some hotel rooms with a bright theme featuring Miffy, a rabbit cartoon character. A total of 15 rooms at four hotels have undergone the...

Akasaka Prince Hotel offers healing stay for women.(Brief Article)
July 25, 2002... The Akasaka Prince Hotel in Tokyo is offering special limited-time packages to women looking for a solitary escape from their hectic lives. For rates of 22,000-24,000 yen, the guest can enjoy a special room with air-freshening plants, a...

Japan Foodservice Association fund for large businesses hurt by mad-cow disease scare.(Brief Article)
July 25, 2002... The Japan Foodservice Association has started a 1.2 billion yen fund to cover a debt guarantee program for large food service businesses affected by the mad-cow disease scare. Previously established programs offer relief to smaller...

New Tokyo becomes Doutor franchisee.(coffee shops)(Brief Article)
July 25, 2002... New Tokyo, better known for its chain of beer halls, has just opened its first Doutor Coffee Shop franchise outlet in Kawasaki City. The company's first franchise shop ever is an attempt to take an attractive location with plenty of foot...

Survey by Util suggests young female flight from Starbucks.(Brief Article)
July 25, 2002... Research firm Util reports that its February survey of dining-out trends indicates that Starbucks Japan is appealing less to the young and more to middle-aged men. After a preliminary sifting of the data, Util says that while more women than...

MOS Food Service annual report. (2001).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 25, 2002... MOS Food Service has filed its earnings report for FY2001, showing that parent company sales contracted 5% to 54.7 billion yen although group sales edged upwards 2% to 72.1 billion yen. The mad-cow scare especially hit the company's core...

Asakuma steak chain offers limited number of 500g steaks.(Brief Article)
July 25, 2002... Asakuma says that customers are starting to come back to its steakhouses now that mad-cow disease fears are easing up a bit, and to encourage the trend it is offering a large-size steak special. For 3500 yen, customers can get 500g of US...

Keikyu Department Store selling French bread made with deep-sea water.(Brief Article)
July 25, 2002... Yokohama's Keikyu Department Store is offering French bread made with water collected at a depth of 300 meters off the coast of Kanagawa Prefecture. Such deep-sea water has become an item of interest among consumers looking for the extra...

Fujimura Seisakusho gas oven for pizza.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
July 25, 2002... Fujimura Seisakusho sells the POB-H Firenze B gas-fueled pizza oven. The interior is made with insulating, flame-resistant material. Ceramics and infrared radiation help bake pizzas to a crispy finish similar to that gotten from wood stoves....

Nissin Plant Engineering creates environmentally friendly fryer.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
July 25, 2002... The Haiyu Less Fryer from Nisshin Plant Engineering and Nissin Oil Mills is advertised as an environmentally friendly frying system that also saves costs and energy. The companies developed the system for commercial use. Far less oil is...

Gokibait from Two-one kills cockroaches for industrial users.(Brief Article)
July 25, 2002... The Gokibait from Two-one attracts cockroaches with a pheromone but does not kill immediately. Instead, the cockroach consuming the poisonous substance brings it back to the nest to share, thus helping eliminate larger numbers. The substance...

Kimuraya snack food with coconut and almond flavors.(Brief Article)
July 25, 2002... Kimuraya offers new quality snacks known as Corretto available in coconut and almond flavors. Both types have meringue and melt in the mouth. The almond type is accented with caramel. Kimuraya packages each for easy gift giving. Price is 500...

Hanamasa releases dashi stock for commercial users.(Brief Article)
July 25, 2002... Gyomuyo Dashinomoto is a dashi stock for commercial users. Five types are available: Marudori Dashinomoto (chicken bouillon with vegetable flavor), Marudorigara Soup (with chicken bones), Hamaguri Dashinomoto (clam), Shiitake Dashinomoto...

Echizen Shokokai dashi stock from Japan Sea fish.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
July 25, 2002... Totodashi is a new dashi stock made with fresh fish from the Japan Sea. The product was the winner in a contest sponsored by a nationwide chamber of commerce. It contains no additives or histamines that can provoke allergies. On the other...

Japan Alcohol-Free Beverage offers non-alcoholic wine.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
July 25, 2002... Ebony Veil from Japan Alcohol-Free Beverage is a wine without alcohol. The alcohol-removing technology selectively targets alcohol, thus keeping the flavor authentic enough for drinking with fine foods. Varieties include sparkling, Cabernet...

Millesimes imports wine from Israel.(Brief Article)
July 25, 2002... Millesimes refers to its new wine imports as "Bible wine" in reflection of their source in the Holy Land of Israel. Golan Heights Winery produces Yarden and Gamla varieties, each in white and red. These are recognized as some of the best...

Japan Tobacco offers line of commercial-use frozen desserts.(Brief Article)
July 25, 2002... New commercial-use frozen dessert offerings from Japan Tobacco include the Mini Cup Dessert Mango, a Hong Kong-style pudding (31g x 10 servings x six trays), followed by Blueberry to Yogurt no Mousse Cake and Kocha to Kiichigo no Mousse Cake...

Japan Tobacco releases new savory dishes.(Brief Article)
July 25, 2002... New frozen commercial-use entrees from Japan Tobacco include Sankaku Amime Harumaki (Ethnic-fuu), a spring roll with shrimp, squid, pineapple and coconut milk in a curry base (18g x 24 pieces x eight bags). Next is Wakadori no Bai Toey...

New commercial-use products from Nichiro.(Brief Article)
July 25, 2002... Nichiro's latest commercial-use food releases include Reimen (Soup-tsuki), a Korean-style starch-based noodle with Brazilian beef extract soup that also contains kelp (1kg, enough for five servings, x 2). Also new is Yuki Daikon no Dessert, a...

Nichiro releases more items in frozen shrimp series.(Brief Article)
July 25, 2002... The NN Shin Ebi Fry (NN new fried shrimp) series from Nichiro has grown to include several new items, starting with NN Manzoku Ebi Fry (Tokudai), a large and extra-large size combining black tiger shrimp and prawns. The pieces shrink very...

Kewpie dressing series focuses on safety of school children.(Brief Article)
July 25, 2002... The new Kewpie School series of dressings from Kewpie seeks to allay the fears parents have about mad-cow disease, preservatives and artificial colors and seasonings. Intended for school lunch programs, the series avoids the use of beef...

Change of Packages, Names Make Dishes a Hit with New Crowd.(Brief Article)
July 25, 2002... The food service industry is selling long-established food products to new customers, especially women, through new shops and different types of packaging and product names. Matsuya Foods, operator of the Matsuya chain of restaurants...

New Frozen Rice Technology.(Brief Article)
July 25, 2002... Toyo Seisakujo has announced the development "Iasu Chill IQF" a 2 stage chilling and freezing device that enables stir-fry rice to be frozen without the typical clumping that occurs in conventional products. The still warm cooked...

Ultra High Pressure Food Processor.(Brief Article)
July 25, 2002... Echigo Confectionery has announced the development of an ultra high-pressure (Up to 4,000 atmospheres) antibacterial and food texture-reforming device. The ingredients are first sealed in airtight packs and placed in a water and alcohol...

Food Allergen Detection Kit.(Morinaga & Co. )(Brief Article)
July 25, 2002... Morinaga & Co. has announced the development of "Elisa Kit" a device able to detect the presence of allergens in processed foods. The product can detect micro-sized particels of egg, milk, wheat, buck-wheat and nut allergens in almost...

Soft Frozen Sushi.(Kairin Maru Beer )(Brief Article)
July 25, 2002... The Hokkaido beer manufacturer Kairin Maru Beer has announced the development of a new preservation method that enables boiled rice to remain soft at low temperatures for up to 4 days and unlike conventional frozen sushi does not require...

System Removes 99% of Wastewater Grease.(Brief Article)
July 25, 2002... Eibisu has launched Grease ECO, a system for automatically removing grease from wastewater. The system is highly innovative in that it removes 99% of grease before the water even leaves the facility. The highly pure grease that is recovered...

Fuel Cell Creates Power from Food Waste.(Tokyo Gas)(Brief Article)
July 25, 2002... Tokyo Gas has developed a fuel cell that converts food waste, such as leftovers, into electric power and heat and promises to help users like restaurants and food product factories lower their power costs. Japan's new food recycling law...

Keio Filtering Technology Used to Make Produce Last Longer.(Brief Article)
July 25, 2002... Cushioning material manufacturer Plast and Keio University Professor Seimei Shiratori have collaborated to develop an ethylene gas adsorbent from a bamboo extract. The extracted enzyme has been worked into the new product Yasasheet for...

Simple Device Doubles Life of Cooking Oil.(Brief Article)
July 25, 2002... Tokyo-based Greenizer has developed a device that doubles the useful life of food oil. The G Fryer material need only be attached with magnets to the outside of industrial fryers. It causes the area of high-phase static electricity inside...

Alniko carrying economical acidic water producer from Ltec.(Brief Article)
July 25, 2002... Alniko is vending a system that produces a liter of highly acidic water per minute for protection from E. coli O-157 and other pathogens. The unique system built by Ltec cuts operating costs by two-thirds thanks to a replaceable cartridge...

Dainippon Printing packs high-viscosity foods for home use aseptically.(Brief Article)
July 25, 2002... Dainippon Printing's DN-ACP packages foods of high viscosity germ-free in pouches. Foods like sauces and stews are packed quickly under hot temperatures to protect the flavor and nutritional value. Dainippon plans to sell the system to food...

GPS Monitoring System for Quality Control of Food in Transit.(Fuji Electric)(Brief Article)
July 25, 2002... Fuji Electric has created a GPS-based system to control the temperature of fresh food and dairy products while in transit. Trucks carrying such products are outfitted with sensors that allow a monitoring center to watch for temperature...

Chip Tracks Temperature of Food in Transit.(Tokyo Gas thermometer product)(Brief Article)
July 25, 2002... To help businesses more closely monitor the temperature conditions around their food products, Tokyo Gas has created a system that tracks temperatures through a thermometer that sticks onto the products and relays its readings to a handheld...

Compact Food Freshness Tester.(from Kikkoman)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 25, 2002... Kikkoman is marketing the Lumitester, a compact food safety check device that runs on luciferase, an enzyme used by fireflies to create light. Users take samples by brushing a cotton swab against a food item and look at light emissions for...

New Package Extends Salad Freshness to Four Days.(Brief Article)
July 25, 2002... Working with the help of Mitsubishi Corporation, Kewpie has developed package technology to extend the freshness life of cut vegetables. Their effort has made it possible for the freshness of a tray-pack salad to last four days. The package...

Food Waste Drier Tied in with National Composting Program.(Brief Article)
July 25, 2002... Marubeni Energy & Chemical Project Corporation has begun selling a food waste drier. The firm has worked since last year with Shinko Plantech to develop food waste processors, but the latest system is a collaboration with Katakura Chikkarin,...