FOCUS: Law change puts traditional Japanese daikon farmers in a pickle

Farmers of traditional smoked daikon pickles, a popular bar snack from Akita Prefecture in northeastern Japan, are facing a conundrum as they struggle to comply with new industrywide food standards that are set to come into effect next year.Along with the aging of producers who for generations have passed down the traditional flavors of iburigakko, as the pickled smoked radish is known in Japanese, some farmers are closing their businesses because they cannot afford the cost of renovating processing facilities to standards required under the revised Food Sanitation Law.With less than one ye…READ FULL ARTICLE