Toyosu Market Officials Hoping to Promote Fish Freshness

September 28, 2018

Tokyo- Officials of the new Toyosu wholesale food market in Tokyo are hoping to promote the enclosed facilities, enabling control of fish temperature and food hygiene, as the market's most prominent selling point.

The officials are pinning hopes on this strength to expand the amount of fish handled at the market.

The market in the Toyosu district of the Koto Ward, to succeed the aging Tsukiji market in Chuo Ward, will open on Oct. 11.

As the Tsukiji market is easily affected by the air outside, due to the market being exposed to open air, as well as the lack of air conditioners in many facilities, many cases were found of the temperature rising for fish brought to the market this summer, which produced many days of torrid heat.

Wholesalers and others scrambled to maintain fish freshness. An auctioneer of fish auctions at the market said that 50 pct more ice was poured into the boxes storing fish than usual.

In contrast, the wholesale area at the Toyosu market is located inside a building equipped with air conditioners that will control the temperature perfectly.

A middle trader said that fish will be kept as fresh as when it was caught for the entire process from being brought into the market until it is carried outside again, thanks to the well-kept temperatures and hygienic controls.

Those who ship fisheries products to the new market also voiced expectations over the strengths of an enclosed facility.

An official from Choshi fishing port in the eastern Japan prefecture of Chiba, which has the largest volume of landings among all ports in the country, has inspected the Toyosu market.

Noting the huge difference between the old and new markets, the official said, "(The Toyosu market) will be able to protect the freshness of the fish that we send."

The official also expressed eagerness to increase the amount of fish shipped to the new market.

Ocean Trading Co., an import firm, currently ships 1,500 tons of salmon from Norway to the Tsukiji market every year. An official said that the company aims to ship 2,000 tons to the Toyosu market, as the new market will have better facilities to keep the fish fresh.

"As products were easily spoiled in summer at the Tsukiji market, we reduced the amount of shipments. We will, however, be able to ship to the Toyosu market without any worries," said an official from a company, based in the central Japan prefecture of Niigata, manufacturing processed marine products.

"We'll be able to increase the amount of shipments by around 20 pct once (the wholesale market functions) move to Toyosu," said a business operator that ships out delicacies, including squid, from the northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido. Jiji Press