Representative Takuro Katahira (left) and Managing Director Hiroki Katagiri (right).
In general, processed meat products such as sausages and ham use additives like sodium nitrite, phosphates, and glutamic acid. The purpose of these additives is to achieve vibrant colors, enhance umami, prevent spoilage and degradation, and realize lower prices.
However, "Smokehouse Fine" in Yamagata has been making its products without any additives for 32 years. Continuing to take on challenges without being constrained by societal norms is harder than one might imagine. Despite this, owner Takuro Katahira has remained committed to additive-free production, driven by a desire to "provide delicious food that people can enjoy with peace of mind." He started the business at the age of 19. When asked, "Why did you take on such a challenge at such a young age?" he attributed it to his parents' influence.
Katahira-san started his business in Takahata, Yamagata Prefecture, where he was born and raised.
"My parents were quite eccentric. More than 50 years ago, they were raising pigs while cultivating organic vegetables. At that time, the mainstream agriculture focused on increasing yields easily using chemical fertilizers and herbicides. While everyone else was doing that, my father thought, 'I have a child with the woman I love, so I want to feed them safe food,' and he started organic farming."
Takahata Town in Yamagata Prefecture, where Fine's workshop is located, is actually a pioneer in organic farming. Katahira-san's family home apparently hosted many people who came to learn about organic farming, staying there in shifts.
"Because my parents were like that, their parenting was also unique; no sweets or juices at all. My siblings and I grew up eating brown rice and vegetables. So, it was always a treat to visit friends' houses and get sweets (laughs). Even now, my younger brother still says, 'The cheap instant ramen we ate secretly with my older brother was delicious!'"
Despite rebelling against his parents, when Katahira-san considered what profession to pursue, he chose making additive-free ham.
A silent cutter machine that mixes and cuts meat. He has been using a high-precision Italian-made one for many years.
"At first, I was training to be a carpenter, but it was just too tough. I started thinking about what kind of work I could do in a place sheltered from the rain and wind, and I simply thought, 'Why not make ham from the pigs my parents raise and sell it?' So, at 18, I studied the basics for a year at the National Meat School in Gunma."
Eventually, as his classmates found jobs, his teacher asked him about his career path. He declared, "I'm going back home to make additive-free ham." The teacher reportedly told him, "That's not ham. If you don't add nitrite, it's not ham; it's boiled pork."
"Even though I ate instant noodles myself, when it came to selling something, the way of thinking my parents had ingrained in me came out. I wanted to sell products that didn't use chemical seasonings or additives."
He started in a small 20-tsubo workshop. People who loved natural foods, who used to buy organic rice and vegetables from his parents, became his customers.
"I bought a small machine and made products twice a week with my mother. At first, it wasn't very delicious, and it took about 10 years to get it off the ground. I also worked part-time jobs outside to make a living, and eventually, I had children. I renewed my desire to feed them safe food, just as my parents had raised me."
From the beginning, he has been making coarse-ground sausages, loin ham, and bacon. He has repeatedly experimented, adjusting tiny amounts of simple ingredients: salt, water, fat, and meat.
"The seasoning is firm but not overpowering, and the balance of fat and meat is excellent. If I were to serve this at my restaurant, I'd want to grill it and serve it with a salad, or stew it with beans, or make a soup. Since there are no unnecessary ingredients, it should make a delicious broth," says Chef Yasumichi Muto of Eme.
"We tried things like adding 1 gram of sugar or reducing 50cc of water, but since we changed the recipe every time we made it, wholesalers sometimes scolded us, saying, 'This is a problem!'" (laughs)
He also learned a lot from senior colleagues in the same industry.
"When I boldly approached them and bowed my head, asking 'Please teach me!', they usually did. Sometimes, when we went to training together, we'd become friends on the trip, and they'd teach me. So, we'll teach anyone who comes here too. Though not many people come anymore."
Now, he understands the necessity of additives, so he doesn't outright reject them.
"Sodium nitrite, which enhances color, is necessary for prosciutto to prevent botulism. However, phosphates, used for binding, elasticity, and water retention, are not necessary for us because we use fresh meat and good machinery."
With freshly slaughtered pork, just adding salt is enough to bind it to some extent. If it's smoked before it separates, phosphates are unnecessary, and fresh meat also has high water retention, so thickeners like carrageenan are also unnecessary. While glutamic acid certainly strengthens umami, it's delicious enough without it, so they prioritize peace of mind and don't use it. Even if the price becomes somewhat higher, they don't want to suppress prices with extenders like milk protein or egg protein.
The factory has adopted HACCP principles for hygiene management since early on and has also obtained certification.
Because they are additive-free and have a short shelf life, they do not mass-produce but instead produce small batches frequently.
"That's how I started to remove various things and use only what was necessary. Our sausage is a 'subtraction sausage.' I want people to know that delicious products can be made without preservatives and other additives."
This natural deliciousness gained a reputation, and as he appeared on TV programs, his business gradually took off. The changing consumer awareness, with an increasing demand for safe food, also played a role.
"Arranging finances was always tough, but the effort to make delicious additive-free products never felt like a struggle. Maybe I'm just optimistic," he says with a laugh. However, he proudly asserts that the taste, cultivated through experiences like visiting Germany and Spain and meticulously blending spices, is an inimitable deliciousness.
"I've also researched by visiting Germany, the home of sausages, and Spain, the home of prosciutto. The first time I went to Germany, my mother counted out banknotes one by one and said, 'Take this and go.' Since I was going anyway, I entered one product in IFFA (the 'World Cup' of ham and sausages) and won an award. It's a tough judging process with 50 criteria, but this really encouraged me and supported my activities thereafter."
For each product, there are about 50 criteria, such as aroma and cross-section, and a perfect score (by deduction) wins a gold medal. If you accumulate several gold medals, you receive a trophy.
After that, he continued to enter IFFA and SUFFA every time, and this year, a record 14 products won gold medals (all others received silver medals). Katahira-san, who attributes his cavity-free teeth at 51 to his parents, also developed a hit product using soy sauce that his parents made with local farmers.
"It's traditional soy sauce made in wooden barrels using organic whole soybeans and wheat. I tried putting it in sausage, and it was delicious. The 'taste of my mother's cooking' that I can no longer eat is the most delicious thing to me. I will continue to make safe and secure products, cherishing the same feelings as my father and mother."
