TOPIC: 1st Grade ( Practice 24 )

 

Do Japanese attach too much importance to food safety?

 

POINTS:

 

[ essay 1 ]

 

Needless to say, it is important that food manufactures make the best effort to provide safe food. However, Japanese people in general place way too much importance on food safety. They should free themselves of their obsession and learn new perspectives on food safety.

 

First, most people in Japan throw away food easily when it is still edible. In today's affluent society like Japan, food is abundant all through the year, and nobody has to worry about hunger and starvation. Also, with advances in agriculture, food is readily available and can be purchased cheaply. As a result, they have no qualms of wasting food.

 

Moreover, some Japanese people seem to be obsessed with the expiration date of food. Most food items today have the date on their label, but it doesn't mean they must be consumed by the due date. It is still possible to eat them after expiration. Nevertheless, some people are too worried to eat expired food due to safety concerns.

 

Lastly, they should pay more attention to people in poor countries. Many people in Africa, for example, are suffering from hunger and starvation. Millions of people could be saved with the amount of food wasted in Japan. Considering their suffering, Japanese people must stop throwing away food so easily.

 

In conclusion, we Japanese waste too much food every day, but not so many people even care about the issue. It is high time to take effective measures to reduce the amount of food being wasted.

 

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[ essay 2 ]

 

Food is essential to build up our body and stay healthy, so it is only natural that Japanese people attach as much importance as possible to food safety.

 

First of all, due to a low self-sufficiency rate, Japan has to rely a lot on imported food from other countries. Under this condition, the nation must ensure all the imported items are inspected thoroughly in order to meet the safety standard. Some imported products can be harmful to the health.

 

In fact, there are many cases reported by the media that some foreign food contains toxic substances. Take Chinese food for example. It is proven that some imported food from China contain agricultural chemicals and caused health problems. Considering the fact that Japan is largely dependent on imported food, it is essential to pay a lot of attention to food safety.

 

Lastly, we can never inspect food too much to ensure food safety. Even with strict inspection regularly done in Japan, food poisoning in restaurants is commonplace. The food industry should take the issue seriously and make clear guidelines to prevent food poisoning.

 

In summary, although some say most Japanese people are too worried about food safety, I believe we cannot be too careful about what we eat, given the current circumstances in Japan.