Here are some examples of french fries and hash browns which you may find in stores.
CONVENIENCE STORES
Convenience stores will sometimes have french fries and/or hash browns in the hot food section near the registers. In general, all the hot food will be cooked in common fryers (including items that contain animal ingredients). Exercise caution if you have food allergies or intolerances. It is common for these foods to contain palm oil.
HASHED POTATO
7/11:
• Hashed potato/ハッシュポテト. Ingredients: Potato (not genetically modified), vegetable oil, salt, dried potato, wheat flour, glucose/spice extract.
Product contains wheat and soy.
As of July 2019, 7-11’s customer service stated that animal ingredients are not used for the hashed potato.
The vegetable oil used in the hashed potato consists of rapeseed oil, palm oil, soybean oil and sunflower oil.
In addition, the frying oil used at Seven-Eleven stores is rapeseed oil and sunflower oil, but it also contains an ingredient derived from palm oil.
They also stated to please keep in mind that the product standards and ingredients used could be changed without notice.
Photo from website.
Family Mart:
• Hashed Potato／ハッシュドポテト. Ingredients: Potato, vegetable oil, salt, dried potato, onion powder, glucose, flavor, sodium pyrophosphate.
As of July 2019, customer service stated that animal ingredients (including meat, fish, dairy products and eggs) are not used.
The oil used in the hashed potatoes themselves is rapeseed oil, palm oil, soybean oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil or sunflower oil (depending on season and cost).
Until late July 2019, the Family Mart website stated that their fried items were fried in palm oil, however, that information seems to have now been removed from the website. However, their customer service confirmed that the oil used to fry the items still contains palm oil. They will not divulge the exact composition of the frying oil, however. As of a review of the allergy information for the Family Mart fried foods on 9/2/2021, the product does not contain any of the 28 allergenic substances.
Photo from website.
FRENCH FRIES
Fried potatoes in the hot foods section of the convenience store, by the register, are a ‘maybe’. Per the allergy information on the 7-11 website, their French Fries and Double Potatoes only contain wheat and soy out of the 28 specified allergens, but as always the oil and seasoning used may be an issue.
Photos from website.
Customer service has stated that the oil used in the fried potatoes themselves is rapeseed oil.
Until late July 2019, the Family Mart website stated that their fried items were fried in palm oil, however, that information seems to have now been removed from the website. However, their customer service confirmed that the oil used to fry the items still contains palm oil. They will not divulge the exact composition of the frying oil, however.
As of a review of the fried foods section of the Family Mart website, this item is not shown as of early September, 2021, and therefore may not currently be available.
Photo from website.
As of a review of the allergy information for the Family Mart fried foods on 9/2/2021, the fast food allergen chart only shows soybeans as an allergen for the Lightly Salted Koro-Jaga with Salt from Goto-Nada/ころじゃが（五島灘の塩味）. It is a limited-quantity item.
• Lightly Salted Koro-Jaga with Salt from Goto-Nada/ころじゃが（五島灘の塩味）.
Photo from website.
There are also frozen french fries available in convenience stores that are meant to be microwaved as-is in the package. Some examples are shown below.
Family Mart:
• Mom’s Dining Room French Fries/お母さんの食堂フライドポテト. Ingredients: Potatoes, vegetable oil, salt, glucose/sodium pyrophosphate.
Product contains soy.
Lawson:
• Lawson Select French Fries/ローソンセレクトフライドポテト. Ingredients: Potatoes, vegetable oil, dextrin, salt, rice flour, starch, glucose/modified starch, leavening agent, thickener (xanthan gum), carotenoid pigment.
•7-11 Microwave French Fries/レンジでフライドポテト. Ingredients: Potatoes, vegetable oil, glucose/sodium phyrophosphate.
Product contains wheat.
• 7-11 Shoestring French Fries/ 細切りフライドポテト. Ingredients: Potatoes, vegetable oil, glucose/sodium pyrophosphate.
Product contains wheat.
As of February 2020, 7-11’s daigaku imo (a sweetened potato dessert) has honey, so is not suitable for vegans.
COSTCO:
• McCain Tortas de Papas Hash Browns. Ingredients: Potatoes, vegetable oil (contains one or more of the following oils: canola, soybean, cottonseed, sunflower, corn) salt, sodium acid phyrophosphate, dextrose, natural flavor.
This product is marked as certified halal on the back of the package.
The McCain company did not directly answer if this product is vegan (setting aside the issue of possible-cross contamination) when asked but they did state that the natural flavor is of vegetable origin.
SUPERMARKETS:
French Fries:
• Ore-Ida Lightly Salted Microwavable French Fries/オレアイダ レンジでカリッホクッフライドポテトうす塩味. Ingredients: Potatoes, vegetable oil, salt, glucose.
Online purchase link: Yahoo Japan Shopping
Topvalu is an Aeon house brand and can be found in Aeon supermarkets and other affiliated stores.
• Topvalu Natural Cut French Fries/トップバリュ ナチュラルカットフレンチフライポテト. Ingredients: Potatoes (grown in America), vegetable oil, glucose, sodium phyrophosphate.
The package states that this product uses potatoes that are not genetically modified, however, it uses rapeseed oil, and that rapeseed oil may be genetically modified. Manufactured in Chiba Prefecture.
• Topvalu Shoestring Cut French Fries/トップバリュ シューストリングカット. Ingredients: Potatoes (grown in America), vegetable oil, glucose (includes wheat), sodium phyrophosphate.
Country of origin: Belgium. The potatoes are not genetically modified.
The following seems as if it could be the same product in a different package. The product name and country of origin are the same and the same ingredients are used.
• Topvalu Shoestring Cut French Fries/トップバリュ シューストリングカット. Ingredients: Potatoes, vegetable oil, glucose (includes wheat), sodium phyrophosphate.
Country of origin: Belgium. The potatoes are not genetically modified.
Hash Browns:
These are from a chain of supermarkets called Gyomu Super.
• Gyomu Super Shredded Potatoes Rosti/業務スーパーロスティ. Ingredients: Vegetables (potatoes (not genetically modified), onions), vegetable oil, potato starch, salt, pepper.
• Swiss Delice Rosti Swiss Style Hash Browns/スイスデリスロスティ. Ingredients: Potatoes 93%, rapeseed oil, cooking salt, vegetable stock (potato starch, cooking salt, yeast extract, onion extract, antioxidant: ascorbic acid, spices, sunflower oil), antioxidant: ascorbic acid, concentrated lemon juice.
Ready-to-fry-potatoes, produced in Switzerland.
VENDING MACHINES:
The Nichirei 24 Hour Hot Menu Casual Frozen Foods vending machine has one option that may be vegan, the french fries/フライドポテト. It cooks the fries for you while you wait.
• Nichirei French Fries/ニチレイ フライドポテト. Ingredients: Potatoes, vegetable oil, dextrin, salt, rice flour, starch, glucose, processed starch, leavening agent, thickener (xanthan gum), coloring (carotenoid pigment), accompanying seasoning salt (salt/seasoning (amino acids etc.)).
Is it Vegan? (Japan) 