A group of 21 katsuo-bushi (dried bonito flakes) producers in Makurazaki, Kagoshima—the katsuo-bushi capital of Japan—established a committee in August with the aim of building a katsuo-bushi factory in France. “We want to spread authentic [Japanese] flavor throughout Europe”, said one of the members. The group plans to build a shared factory where they will produce the premium honkare-bushi brand of bonito flakes, among other products. The group says its effort is unique in that they aim to open a factory to spread their wares throughout Europe, as opposed to similar factories in Southeast Asia that serve the Japanese market. The idea was born after an official from the producers’ co-operative visited France and found that Japanese restaurants there were having trouble importing katsuo-bushi due to strict regulations. The aim is to have the factory, which will be situated on the Atlantic Ocean coast, in operation by 2015 before a food expo in Italy. Source: Nishinippon Shimbun 10/4
