Viral video shows food model made by Japanese company, not fake sweet potatoes manufactured in China

 

Screenshot of the Facebook post.

 

News Brief

A video was shared May 29, 2023, on Facebook. It claims to show the process of manufacturing fake sweet potatoes in China. The Facebook post, written in simplified Chinese, translates in part as, “even sweet potatoes can be counterfeit… sweet potatoes made by China’s advanced technology.”

As of the issuance of this report, the post had been shared 48 times, and had received 70 comments and 387 likes or reactions. Similar videos had been circulating on Facebook here.

Fact-checking

A horizontal flip of the video found that the Japanese-language text on the clothing of the person in the video translates as “food sample” (食品サンプル).

 

The text on the person’s clothes in the video.

 

A reverse image search discovered a TikTok user named “元祖食品サンプル屋” (Ganso Shokuhin Replica Food Shop) had posted a video on May 19, 2023. A comparison shows that the viral video was a horizontally flipped version of the original TikTok video.

 

Screenshot comparison of the viral video (left) and the TikTok video from Ganso Shokuhin Replica Food House (right).

 

Ganso Shokuhin Replica Food Shop is a Japanese food model company. Replica food are models that simulate the real appearance of food and are often displayed as food samples at the entrance of restaurants. According to the official website of Ganso Shokuhin Replica Food Shop, replica food or food models were invented in Japan between the end of the Taisho period and the beginning of the Showa period. They are usually made of wax, resin, or silicone.

The YouTube channel of Ganso Shokuhin Replica Food Shop also published another video of sweet potato model production, featuring the same scenes and logos on the staff’s clothing as those in the viral video.

 

Screenshots of the sweet potato model video uploaded by Ganso Shokuhin Replica Food Shop.