Reading Food Labels in Japan (Nutritional Information)

おはよう！ohayou! Having been assigned to Japan for the past few months now, I thought I might share what I encounter on food labels, on the street, and so forth. While my Nihongo skills are far from expert level, it should not stop me from learning what I encounter everyday in the real world.

Japanese	Reading	English	Remarks
栄養成分	Eiyō seibun	Nutritional Information
カップ		cup	1 カップ = 1 cup
当たり	atari	per	e.g.１カップ（８０g）当たり per 1 cup (80g)
エネルギー		Energy
たんぱく質	"tanpoku" + "shitsu"	Protein	質 = "shitsu" = quality
脂 質	"abura" + "shitsu"	Lipids	脂 = "fat"
亜硫酸塩	aryuusanshio	Sulfite	塩 - "shio" = salt commonly found in dried fruit
炭水北物	tansuikabutsu	Carbohydrates
ナトリウム	natorium	Sodium	"Sodium" is also known as "Natrium", hence the symbol "Na" in the Periodic Table of Elements

Japanese	Reading	English	Remarks
10°C以下	"juu"°C + "Doshī ika"	10 degrees Celsius and below	This label is commonly found in frozen or chilled food, such as yogurt, which must be stored in temperatures 10 degrees Celsius and below
要冷蔵	Kaname reizō	Keep refrigerated	冷蔵庫 or "reizoko" means refrigerator in Japanese

A point worth mentioning is that the Japanese language actually has translations for ingredients to watch out for, such as sodium and sulfite, which is an allergen. (More on allergens on my next post) Be sure to watch out for these food labels when you buy things at your local Japanese stores, or from the many international stores around.