Take our user survey and make your voice heard.
Onigiri–those sometimes triangular, sometimes circular rice balls that are ubiquitous at Japanese convenience stores. Inexpensive, perfectly portable, and easy to wolf down in a few moments, they’re the Japanese snack of choice for everyone from working executives to a family out on a picnic.
A few days ago, Fumihiko Nagamatsu, a director of Seven & i Holdings Co Ltd, the parent organization of 7-Eleven Japan, unveiled upcoming plans in an interview with the Mainichi Shimbun to extend the expiration date of their onigiri by roughly twice the current length of time. 7-Eleven onigiri presently have a shelf life of approximately 18 hours, a time which would be extended to approximately 1.5-2 days under the new target with plans for implementation in March 2021.
Nagamatsu elaborated by stating that 7-Eleven locations in Japan sell an average of 200 onigiri per day. He predicts that this simple change would reduce the amount of wasted onigiri by 50 percent. As 7-Eleven does not currently use preservatives in its onigiri and has no plans to moving forward, the chain is currently considering different ways to achieve this goal. The most likely option appears to be increasing the nitrogen within the sealed packaging to preserve the freshness, but it is also investigating other methods due to the different packaging styles used for various types of onigiri.
Source: Mainichi Shimbun via Hachima Kiko
Read more stories from SoraNews24.
-- The polite way to eat onigiri rice balls sparks debate online
-- The fastest way to open an onigiri will only take one second 【Video】
-- In celebration of Onigiri Day, we compare rice balls from three different convenience stores
- External Link
- https://soranews24.com/2021/01/05/7-eleven-japan-to-double-the-shelf-life-of-their-onigiri-rice-balls/
9 Comments
Login to comment
Darren
USA shelf life of a Twinkie cake 45 days, Tastycacke cookies or pies 65 days . Hostess 50 days .Make sure you use a sample piece to check if ants and bugs will eat it first. If they won't you should not either .
Oxycodin
That is not good by extending expiration date. They will add more liver killing and unhealthy preservatives.
I would eat them. its not hard to make your own Onigir and it doesn't take a rocket scientist either to make an onigiri. Your choice to consume the toxics they add more to extend life shelf.... stay safe.
inkochi
Depends what filling is:
ikura - forget it
konbu, umeboshi, even some of the dreadful mayo shi-chicken and cooked salmon - yeah
Speed
Thank god for this decision! I've always thought that the shelf life on onigiri could be much longer. I've left onigiri bought from one of the convenience stores in my fridge for a couple of days after buying them and they still tasted delicious.
Dũng LQ
I hope it will be no side effect to people health
vallum
Destroying local business? If their food are terrible and expensive and said local business can't fight that, well, something is wrong with your local business.
kohakuebisu
One of my favourite ever moments on Japanese TV happened recently on a (n obviously heavily sponsored) show that gets Michelin starred chefs to judge the food from convenience stores.
It's been on before and previously hyped up the cakes and desserts, but this time put Lawson, 7 Eleven, and Family Mart head to head with a wider range of foods, including stuff that's straight out of the freezer and into the fryer.
The "jump the shark" moment came right at the end when six of the seven judges said Lawson's top product, Karaage Kun chicken nuggets, junk food by anyone's definition, were "oishii". I think this destroys the last lingering doubt about that word, which from now on should be translated as "nice", not erroneously as "delicious".
BertieWooster
My new year's resolution is to give up conbinis. The food is terrible, it's expensive and they are destroying local business.
Mickelicious
Nobody will notice.