Panic buying of salt and seafood and concerns of seafood in school lunches: Public worry becomes reality

Bulk purchases of dried anchovies and seaweed jump: After Japan began discharging contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant, the sale of dried seafood has surged in large retailers and traditional markets. A homemaker examines the products on display at a store selling dried seafood in a traditional market in Seoul on August 27. Yonhap News

On the morning of August 27, a supermarket in Jung-dong, Bucheon-si, a city in Gyeonggi-do, was selling over fifty 20kg sacks of bay salt from Sinan piled up in the store. In the leaflet announcing discounts that the supermarket handed out, it said that the store was selling a sack of Sinan bay salt for 39,800 won and was limiting sales to two sacks per person. A, a supermarket employee said, “Since August 9, we sold about 2-3 sacks (of salt) a day at most. Then on August 22, we sold eight sacks, seven the next day, and ten on August 24.” He explained, “We sold a lot of salt when word went around that the price of salt would rise, then demand dropped for a while. It soared back up after they (Japan) discharged the contaminated water (from Fukushima).”

Heo (75), who went to the supermarket to buy salt, said, “The professors and TV shows said that once the water was discharged, the seawater and fish would all be contaminated, too. So I wanted to stock up on some salt beforehand.” She added, “Since I also have grandchildren, I plan to stock up (on salt) and share it with my two sons and two daughters.” Heo continued and said, “I didn’t think we would be able to buy kimchi anymore. So I already ordered all the jeotgal (salted seafood) from a place I know.” She shared her concern and said, “It’s okay for my generation, but I’m worried about the kids. China stopped importing marine products from Japan, and I wish we would block imports, too.”

After the Japanese government began discharging contaminated water from the Fukushima-Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1 on August 24, some nervous citizens have been panic buying salt and seafood to stock up on as many products released before the discharge of contaminated water as possible. Oh (33), who raises two children ages four and six, recently purchased a large amount of seaweed and dried fish, which have a long shelf life. Oh said, “They say it is safe, but I don’t think I will be that willing to buy such products. So I purchased some for my children beforehand.”

The storeowners have a lot on their minds as they look at the nervous customers. Jeong (57), who has been running a fish store at Sangdong Market in Bucheon for two decades, said, “After the discharge of contaminated water, people are buying more fish saying they’ll keep them in the freezer.” He explained, “If it’s from Japan, they don’t buy it. They all buy fish only from Korea. Our sales have jumped 20-30% because people are buying a lot of fish that go on the table for the ancestral memorial rites, such as the yellow corbina and dried croaker, to prepare for Chuseok.”

Parents with children in school are also letting out heavy sighs. The Ministry of Education said it would not use any seafood from Japan in school lunches, but parents are worried at the news that the government and the People Power Party have invited companies providing food services to discuss ways to increase the use of seafood on August 30. Gim (44), who has a child in boarding school, said, “I would like for my child not to eat it (seafood) if he can, but I’m worried because I can’t pack him lunches, since he lives in a dormitory outside the Seoul metropolitan area.” In online communities, people posted several posts such as “I told my child not to eat any seafood, if it is included in the school lunch” and “I plan to examine the menu and pack her a lunch box on days they have seafood.”