Rakuten Meal Special: Maggot au Naturel, Infused with Aged Flies
The Rakuten Monkeys, a lazy organisation that has been running its CPBL team half-heartedly over the past few years, is once again in hot water. This time for serving unhygienic food to its players. To make things even worse, this comes just four months after the last food incident, despite Rakuten’s promise to improve.
On August 6, CTWANT Magazine reported that several unnamed Rakuten Monkeys players claimed the team meal provided by the team on August 2 contained dead flies and even live maggots crawling on top.
“Dead flies I can let slide and count as extra protein, but live maggots? That’s too much,” one frustrated player joked. “The fish and tofu dish that day also smelled spoiled.”
Food Quality Improved for Only 2 Weeks
Back in April, the Rakuten Monkeys were already accused of slashing the meal budget after firing three team chefs, which led to giving their players smaller portions, non-nutritious, cheap processed food, and occasionally even plastic fragments turning up in dishes.
Players said food quality improved briefly after the April scandal was reported in the media, but within two weeks, it had slipped again, back to oily, salty, cheap processed food like sausages and squid balls.
CTWANT’s article also mentioned a nutritionist hired by the team clashing with the catering company over food quality standards. The vendors, however, claimed Rakuten was only giving them about $3 to 4.5 USD per player per meal, reportedly the lowest catering budget in the CPBL, making it impossible to raise quality.
One unnamed Rakuten Monkeys player told CTWANT that the players had raised concerns with management, but the Japanese management was very passive about the whole situation, repeatedly making empty promises to “optimise” meals without ever following through.
CPBL Commissioner, Players Union, City Council on Rakuten’s Latest Food Scandal
This latest unhygienic food scandal has also drawn attention from the Players Union, the CPBL commissioner, and even the Taoyuan City Council.
The CPBL Players Union released a statement expressing serious concern: “Food safety is equally important as venue safety. Both are fundamental labour rights. Whenever player health is involved, there is no room for ambiguity.”
The union noted that Rakuten’s meals have faced multiple complaints this season alone and that with clear hygiene problems now exposed, player trust has been badly damaged. “Players should not have to bear any food-related risks. This is the most basic workplace safety guarantee.”
The CPBL commissioner also weighed in: “I have requested Rakuten Monkeys senior management to establish a food hygiene safety protocol. There are many professional catering companies, and food safety issues should not be taken lightly.”
The Taoyuan City Health Bureau told CNA that it is coordinating with the Sports Bureau to investigate. If any food safety violations are found, they will take action according to the law.
Rakuten’s Response, Another Empty Promise?
As for Rakuten’s response, the team said the food safety issue was discovered on-site and they immediately demanded that the supplier improve hygiene standards. Going forward, they claim they’ll conduct random inspections of the supplier’s facilities and require regular disinfection.
For anyone keeping track at home, this is now the third time in about 12 months that the Rakuten Monkeys have been publicly called out for serving their players low-quality meals.
- July 2024: Players complained that food quality had dropped, but they did not provide any proof with photos, and Rakuten flat-out denied the allegation.
- April 2025: Players submitted photos of poor-quality food. Most dishes were oily and salty, with hardly any meat in it. Some dishes even contained plastic bits. Rakuten apologised and promised they will listen to the players and improve.
- August 2025: Players submitted photos and videos of poor-quality food. Some dishes even contained dead flies and live maggots.
