Virtually everyone who lives in Japan or has even visited Japan has heard of fugu. Known in English as puffer fish, this highly toxic fish is a Japanese delicacy which can only be prepared by trained chefs due to the poison contained in the skin, liver, and ovaries.
But today a discount supermarket chain has come under fire for selling the poisonous puffer fish, still whole, after a netizen who purchased the fish uploaded it to Twitter.
Needless to say, 2ch netizens are not impressed. So far there are no reported casualties from the fish, but what’s more amazing still is that people actually bought it…
From Sankei Shimbun:
Poisonous Puffer Fish Sold With Poison Glands Still Intact At “Super Tamade” Store Due To Employee Error; Immediately Withdrawn From Sale
It was revealed on June 29 that at certain branches of the discount supermarket “Super Tamade” (which has its headquarters in Nishinari Ward, Osaka) packs of puffer fish with the skin — which is poisonous — still attached, had been on sale temporarily. The liver and ovaries of the fish, which are highly toxic, had been removed at the supply stage; however, an investigation has been instigated by the City based on the possibility that the sale of the fish may be in violation of food safety laws.
According to a company insider, in late June an employee accidentally packed the fish without preparing it, and several packs were put out for sale at the Super Tamade Tenjinbashi branch in Tenjinbashi, Kita Ward, Osaka.
Customers who bought the fish uploaded pictures of it to Twitter, causing a stir online. The company stated: “We apologize profusely to our customers. We will train staff more thoroughly from now on”.
Comments from 2ch.net:
名無しさん＠１周年:
Come on, someone must have done that purposely
名無しさん＠１周年:
That’s a pretty big mistake w
名無しさん＠１周年:
Attempted murder.
名無しさん＠１周年:
WTF, why does this sound like a pachinko parlor and not a supermarket name? [Super Tamade is often mocked for looking and sounding like it is a pachinko parlor]
名無しさん＠１周年:
Dude, I thought those fish were like pachinko prizes.
名無しさん＠１周年:
People on the lookout for poison must have been overjoyed.
名無しさん＠１周年:
The rule at Tamade is that as long as it ain’t rotten, it’s safe.
名無しさん＠１周年:
Guess they have foreigners packing it who don’t even know what a puffer fish is?
名無しさん＠１周年:
Isn’t this terrorism?
名無しさん＠１周年:
If it’s Super Tamade people will forgive it （´・ω・｀）
名無しさん＠１周年:
People coming from other prefectures don’t even realize it’s a supermarket. It looks like a pachinko parlor.
名無しさん＠１周年:
No one expects anything better from Tamade.
A supermarket that looks so vulgar and bright will be hated even in Osaka.
And who the hell would buy puffer fish? w
名無しさん＠１周年:
Petrifying.
名無しさん＠１周年:
They’ve been really popular with women who want to kill their husbands!
名無しさん＠１周年:
You’d expect that people buying them would also think something was up.
Everyone is frightened of a whole puffer fish.
名無しさん＠１周年:
It’s a cheap store, you get what you pay for.
名無しさん＠１周年: [in response to above]
But it’s 9800 yen man [approx. $96].
名無しさん＠１周年:
Do they even have anyone there with a proper puffer fish license? [In Japan official puffer fish preparation licenses are necessary if you prepare the fish for consumption].
名無しさん＠１周年:
Useful for people who want some tetrodoxin [the poison in puffer fish].
名無しさん＠１周年:
I wonder if people would have realized if someone hadn’t uploaded pictures online?
名無しさん＠１周年:
I’ve heard from people I’ve asked from Osaka that they’ll sell rotten fruit in a 10 yen sale without caring.
名無しさん＠１周年:
They were even selling axolotl there…
