Exotic Food, Food Environment, and Geographical Patterns: Big Data Analytics From Japanese Cuisine in China

Abstract

As urban amenity welfare, exotic food is related to consumers’ equal access to diversified food and a healthy diet. This study uses big data provided by an online catering platform to explore Japanese cuisine in China. The field intensity model and spatial econometric model are used to analyze the place effect and its relationship with local socioeconomic factors. The results illustrate that 1) the spatial distribution of Japanese cuisine shows the characteristics of an unbalanced agglomeration distribution, with the coastal economically developed cities as the key layout area and gradually extending to inland cities. 2) Price characteristics indicate that the service target of Japanese cuisine is mainly the middle class. In addition, the spatial inequality of field intensity value indicates that wealthy Eastern cities have more opportunities to enjoy more kinds of and higher quality exotic food. 3) In the local socioeconomic environment, urbanization level, population size, and economic scale are significantly related to inequal access to Japanese cuisine. The essential mechanism of these circumstances is the internal needs of pricing characteristics and the negative externalities caused by unequal urban infrastructure.

Health Insights from Nematode Larval Characterization in Greater Lizardfish, Saurida tumbil (Bloch, 1795) (Teleostei, Synodontidae)

“…The traditional cuisines in the study area and the countries surrounding the Persian Gulf and Oman Sea often involve the prolonged cooking of fish [87], a practice deeply embedded in the culinary heritage. However, in alignment with global trends [88], the consumption of raw seafood, exemplified by dishes like sushi and sashimi, is on the rise in these countries [89][90][91], as well as in regions of the world away from the sea [92]. A recent study conducted in Bushehr, located on the northern coast of the Persian Gulf, showed previously undisclosed cases of anisakiasis, a parasitic infection caused by Anisakis larvae [60].…”