“Smile Ball”, an onion variety developed by House Foods with low levels of pungent compounds, was displayed and offered for tasting at the FABEX Kansai 2026 venue, where its non-spicy characteristics and sources of availability were introduced.
At the venue for the food trade show FABEX Kansai 2026, House Foods displayed its onion variety “Smile Ball”, and visitors tasted it raw on the spot.
Smile Ball is said not to be spicy even when bitten into raw immediately after peeling. Emphasis was placed on its low content of the compounds that cause the tears and pungency associated with conventional onions.
The variety was developed based on research by the University of Tokyo and House Foods. It was explained that it was created through selective breeding following analysis of why cutting onions causes tears.
Smile Ball is sold at supermarkets in Hokkaido and the Kanto region and is also available from online stores. A version seasoned with Aromatic Salt was offered for tasting, and a 5 kg pack is sold on Amazon.co.jp for ¥4,566 including tax.