Support through Business Activities
1.Nichirei Foods: Supports Areas Hit by Great East Japan Earthquake
In an effort to support communities that have been affected by the massive earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan's Tohoku region in 2011, Nichirei Foods Inc. has organized cooking classes in temporary housing facilities.
Even after large numbers of people moved from those facilities, Nichirei Foods continued its support. Employees were sent schools to give students a virtual experience of a factory tour. Using audio-video materials showing an actual production plant, the employees gave the students easy-to-understand lessons about the processes involved in making frozen food products, Nichirei Foods' safety and security initiatives, and its fastidious manufacturing techniques.
In FY2017 , the program was held at Wabuchi Elementary School in Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture, providing a fun virtual factory tour for the children, who were enthusiastic. (We are currently not accepting applications for virtual factory tours.)
2.Inochi-no-Mori Project
The Inochi-no-Mori Project was initiated by Nichirei Fresh as a reflection of its consideration for the environment and with the goal of establishing sustainable ingredient procurement.
Conventional “intensive” shrimp farming involves cutting down forests to create man-made ponds, raising shrimp on man-made composite feed. The process of providing the shrimp with oxygen as they grow consumes large amounts of electricity and fuel. As such, the environmental impact is huge. However, the “extensive” farming promoted by Nichirei Fresh involves allowing a relatively small number of shrimp to live freely in a large cultivation pond that makes use of the natural terrain and ecosystem.
The shrimp feed on plankton and aquatic plants in the pond, with no man-made feed required. In addition, by harnessing the natural ebb and flow of the tides, no electricity or fuel oil is used in the course of farming and harvesting. This is a model method of shrimp farming that functions in symbiosis with the surrounding environment and ecosystem. Since the shrimp are raised in as natural an environment as possible, while avoiding farming density, they have plenty of room to grow and so reach much larger sizes.
Through local partner PT. Mustika Minanusa Aurora, Nichirei Fresh allots part of the proceeds generated by these shrimp farms to investment in mangrove tree-planting activities on the Indonesian island of Kalimantan, where shrimp are cultivated. Our tree-planting activities are helping in the recovery of the natural ecosystem, while we are also contributing to continued improvement of the overall cultivation environment, which is indispensable for the shrimp farming industry.
The project has been operating since 2006, and we are now moving forward with further conservation activities, including an initiative to buy the land rights to untouched mangrove forests in order to preserve them and prevent their development, as well as with our current environmental recovery program through tree-planting.
When customers purchase shrimp raised in the extensive shrimp farming system, they are helping to preserve untouched forests. Nichirei Fresh also hopes to expand this project to other countries.
3.Nichirei Fresh: Rollout of MIRAI MEAT to Support Young Athletes with Meat
On December 20, 2019, Nichirei Fresh began rolling out MIRAI MEAT, a new project to provide meat to support young up-and-coming athletes. In this project, we supply our Amani-no-Megumi series of specialty meat products to young athletes between the ages of 10 and 29 who are pursuing their dreams.
Athletes require a high-quality diet for fatigue recovery, physical fitness and weight control. Although top athletes often receive specialized dietary support, access to such support is limited to only some athletes.
In keeping with the important role we play in supplying high-quality animal proteins, we launched this project with a strong commitment to providing more dietary support to new athletic talent of the next generation.
Over a one-year period, up-and-coming athletes that pass Nichirei’s selection process are provided with products from the Amani-no-Megumi meat series, which are made from animals raised on feed containing ingredients derived from omega-3 fatty acid-rich linseed meal.
4.Cleanup Activities
We carry out cleanups at our business bases nationwide, including the area around the Nichirei head office building in Tsukiji, Chuo City, Tokyo.