We recently took a trip to Asian Food Grocery in 130th & Aurora and found this one. My wife likes yakisoba a lot and so I like to make it for her. This one has a little interesting thing though. On the sticker, it mentioned ‘This product contains chemicals known to the state of California to cause cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm.’ Wait, what? So I took a look at the ingredients list and found something I’d not seen before – an ingredient called Rebaudioside A. I looked that up and wikipedia had this to say:
Rebaudioside A (sometimes shortened to “Reb A”) is a steviol glycoside that is 200 times sweeter than sugar.[2] The glycoside contains only glucose (to the exclusion of other commonly found monosaccharides) as its monosaccharide moieties. It contains four glucose molecules in total with the central glucose of the triplet connected to the main steviol structure at its hydroxyl group, and the remaining glucose at its carboxyl group forming an ester bond.
Rebiana is the trade name for high-purity rebaudioside A.[3]
Okay so it looks like this is related to stevia. I looked at Rebiana and found this:
Rebiana is the trade name for high-purity rebaudioside A,[1] a steviol glycoside that is 200 times as sweet as sugar.[2] It is the primary source of sweetness in the Truvia sweetener brand. According to the Truvia website, Rebiana is derived from stevia leaves by steeping them in water and purifying the resultant extract to obtain the rebaudioside A exclusively.[3]Cargill has filed patents that give it exclusive rights to sell Rebiana in beverages.[4]
Okay so it’s the same stuff as in Truvia, a popular sweetener that comes from stevia extract. So I’m still not seeing anything about cancer. In fact, I found this on wikipedia – “Purified rebaudioside A has been allowed since December 2008 as a food additive (sweetener), sold under various trade names, and classified as “generally recognized as safe” (“GRAS”). So am I barking up the wrong tree?
The only other thing I could think of is that there could be some katsuobushi in here. Katsuobushi is smoked and dried fish that is commonly used. From the warning (one that sounds like one you would find on a pack of cigarettes), I think this may be the case. So when it comes down to it, smoked salmon, smoked meats – they have been exposed to smoke. Smoke contains carcinogens. Carcinogens have been found to cause cancer.
I will say if this is the culprit for the label warning, that the amount of seasoning you would have to eat to equal the amount found in a drag from one cigarette would probably be gargantuan; like over 100 servings. But there it is. I don’t know either way. Could be one, could be the other, could be neither – could be an error putting that on the pack (although I’m sure the company would fix that). Anyways – warning be damned! Let’s give this Goku-Uma yakisoba a try!
Goku-Uma Yakisoba Japanese Style Noodle – United States
An import sticker (click to enlarge).
Labeling from the bottom of the outer wraps (click to enlarge). Contains egg. To prepare, add in cabbage sachet and add boiling water to fill line. Let steep for 3 minutes covered. Drain. add in liquid sachet contents. Finally, stir and enjoy!
Detail of the lid (click to enlarge).
The noodle block.
The liquid base sachet.
Has that Worcestershire scent standard of yakisoba sauce.
Guess what’s in here?
Yep – cabbage!
Mayonnaise/mustard combo garnish!
Finished (click to enlarge). Added Salad Cosmo mung bean sprouts, spring onion and chashu pork. The noodles came out well – The texture and chew are very good. The yakisoba flavor is good, however it is slightly muted. Indeed, I like yakisoba sauce flavor to be decently strong. Finally, the karashi mayo. I love this stuff and it really does a lot insofar as lubricating the noodles. Without it they would be just a sticky dry affair – glad they include it! 4.75 out of 5.0 stars. UPC bar code 074410396367.
Where can I buy this?
Asain mart but most definitely at an Hmart a Korean grocery store😉