Ok I am not a prude or a wowser but ...We are cooking Japanese this week (photos will be up in a few hours) and I was cruising through the Japanese section of the local supermarket just to see if there was anything I could grab that would add to my attempt at a genuine cultural experience. So what did I see front and centre but mirin. Okay I though, I got it wrong "I thought it was alcohol" so I picked up the bottle (available for purchase for just over $8) to read the label and yes it was 12 - 15% alcohol!
Okay I know supermarkets sell some brands of mouthwash that contain alcohol, and vanilla extract and yes you can get drunk on them if you drink enough. But this is actually an alcohol - in the same way as wine or beer of Jim Beam are alcohols!
What loophole in the Australia supermarket system allows them to sell this product? Do I ask or complain or am I over-reacting? I figure that as there are no signs or anything , anyone, including kids, can purchase this alcohol without so much as a blink of an eye.
3 comments:
The other day in Coles supermarket while I was in the Asian section looking for something or other there on the other side of the aisle was a asian lady buying Spam (all I could think of is she is buying it for her big Aussie husband at home). Go figure
Given ones occupation I would of bought it to the managers attention...I mean they cant sell knives, soda bulbs, spray paint...honest love, like me they are probaly unaware...if however they were aware he could at least offer an explanation and then if you wished you could take it further
Here in the States cooking alcohol is the same as regular alcohol--meaning it's in stores and kids can't buy it.
I have a funny story about this, too. I like Shirley Temples (non-alcoholic drink consisting of Sprite or 7UP with Grenadine syrup). I like them a lot. So sometimes I buy Grenadine to make it at home. It's in the alcohol section at the Supermarkets out here (with the cooking wine)--and yet, it's just cherry flavored syrup. Yet I get carded EVERY SINGLE TIME I buy this stuff.
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