Popular menbei crackers have been recalled by their makers after it was discovered that the dough contained an unspecified amount of tiny flies.
A Gross Discovery
On Saturday, famed Japanese cod roe brand, Yamaguchi Aburaya Fukutaro, issued a voluntary recall for 11,240 boxes of its crackers.
The company was first alerted to the gruesome discovery via mail on September 2. After investigating the claim, the insects were confirmed to be in the crackers a week later. Around a quarter of the boxes produced on one particular day at the factory were thought to be affected.
Exactly how the flies came to be present in the savory snacks remains a mystery, yet it’s thought that they were mixed into the dough by accident, coming in from outside.
What are Menbei Crackers?
Menbei crackers contain mentaiko, (spicy marinated pollock or cod roe), and have been made at the company’s factory in Fukuoka for over 100 years. The name is a play on the words mentaiko and senbei, the legendary Japanese rice cracker.
The snack are popular among customers from young children through to adults. Yamaguchi Aburaya Fukutaro states on its site that the crackers are “great with beer or as a children’s snack.”
The crackers themselves are made from potato and spicy cod roe, and are marketed as a special gift from Fukuoka city. They come in various flavors, such as mayonnaise, leek and extra spicy, and are considered a classic Fukuoka souvenir.
