These visuals showcase wax food display replicas found in Japan, not China - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 3, 2024
A viral video shows a man crafting artificial cabbages, accompanied by a claim suggesting it shows the preparation of artificial cabbages in China. In this article, we aim to fact-check the assertion associated with the video.
Claim: Video shows preparation of artificial cabbages in China.
Fact: These visuals showcase wax food display replicas found in Japan, not China. These artificial cabbages are not meant for consumption; instead, they are utilized as food replicas exhibited outside restaurants in Japan. It is a common practice within Japan’s food industry to employ such artificial food replicas. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
The video indeed showcases the creation of artificial cabbages. However, the visuals featured are not from China but from Japan. Moreover, these artificial cabbages are not intended for consumption; rather, they serve as food replicas showcased outside restaurants in Japan.
Upon conducting a YouTube search using pertinent keywords, we discovered a full-length version of the viral video uploaded to the YouTube channel ‘macdeetube’ in February 2014. According to the accompanying description, the video showcases an artist crafting ‘ultra-realistic’ food replica of different meats and vegetables destined for restaurants in the Gifu Prefecture of Japan.
Additional investigation uncovered news articles discussing these artificial food replicas (here & here). According to these reports, the incredibly realistic fake food, known as ‘shokuhin sample’ or ‘food sample,’ is utilized outside restaurants in Japan to enhance menu cards, allowing diners to visually perceive their orders. Consequently, these reports confirm that the viral video has no association with China.
Previously, when identical visuals were circulated alongside an assertion that China was unloading synthetic cabbages onto American consumers, the fact-checking organization Snopes refuted the claim. They clarified that the visuals portrayed Japanese wax food samples.
To sum it up, these visuals showcase wax food display replicas found in Japan, not China.