Crackers with a sting in the tail

Rice cracker makers in Japan are creating a buzz about their product by adding wasps to the recipe.

The jibachi senbei, or digger wasp rice crackers, each contain five or six black insects which are clearly visible to the naked eye.

They are manufactured in Omachi, around 120 miles northwest of Tokyo.

Wasp hunters from the village, who are mostly in their 80's, catch them in nearby forests.

They are then boiled in water, dried and sprinkled over the cracker mix, which is then stamped by hot iron cracker cutters.

A bag of 20 crackers costs £1.60, but output is limited as the wasps are caught in the wild for optimum flavour.

© Independent Television News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.

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