Food maker halts jelly production (bad news for konnyaku)

Japan Times

(9th October 2008, front page, a national English-language daily):

Food maker halts jelly production

17 children, seniors choked to death on 'konnyaku' since '95.

MannanLife Co., Japan's largest maker of "konnyaku" (devil's tongue) 
jelly, said it halted production and shipment of all products 
Wednesday....

Article by M. Matsutani and A. Martin

+++++++++++

My thoughts: those jellies were badly-designed, over-packaged, 
over-processed mouth-sized, throat-blocking products.

Konnyaku (Amorphophallus paeoniifolius) itself is a great plant, and 
the traditional jelly product comes in safe large blocks or as 
noodles that can be used in dozens of ways in ordinary Japanese 
cooking. We can find it in every supermarket, and although the mannan 
has no direct nutritional role (it is indigestible), the jelly (more 
like soft rubber) does fill the belly and helps digestion generally. 
It is probably the original slimming product.

Peter
-- 



Peter Matthews (Dr)
Field Sciences Laboratory
Department of Social Research
National Museum of Ethnology
Senri Expo Park, Suita City,  
Osaka 565-8511, Japan

Tel. +81 6 6876-2151 (exchange)
Tel. +81 6 6878-8344 (my office, direct)
Fax +81 6 6878-7503

Sites

The Research Cooperative
http://www.cooperative.ning.com

National Museum of Ethnology
http://www.minpaku.ac.jp

Staff page
http://www.minpaku.ac.jp/english/staff/matthews/
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