Zimbabwean pavilion’s initial one-ton order running out after Italy gave it permission to sell crocodile at world fair that also features Japanese fugu fish

“Would you like a side of fries with that crocodile burger?”

It is hardly a commonplace phrase in Italy, where even a good, old-fashioned hamburger is hard to come by. But crocodile burgers are selling like hot cakes in Zimbabwe’s pavilion at the Milan Expo, perhaps because Italy is one of the few countries in the world where the meat is usually banned.

Italian authorities have made a special allowance for the meat to be sold at the expo, where tourists can buy a croc burger and baobab juice for €15 (£10).

Italy has also made an exception for the Japanese pavilion to serve fugu, the highly poisonous puffer fish that is banned in the EU.

The Zimbabwean team has sold about 1,000 crocodile burgers a day so far, and is ordering in more meat as its supply runs short. It is also reportedly preparing to expand its offering to include a croc pizza and crocodile fillets, served with Sicilian oranges and cherry tomatoes.

Zimbabwe’s ambassador to Italy, Godfrey Magwenzi, said the crocodile meat idea originated when organisers were trying to think of an appropriate relish or meat to offer alongside the cereals being served at the expo, the theme of which is food and sustainability. After the world’s largest crocodile breeder, Zimbabwe-based Padenga Holdings, got on board, the pavilion received special permission to serve the meat in Italy for a limited period following two sets of health and safety tests by the Italian health ministry.

“We are so happy that we have been getting maximum cooperation from the ministry of health,” the ambassador noted. He said the meat was produced by specialised breeders who carefully monitored the crocodile population. Some species of crocodile are endangered.

Initially, Zimbabwe imported a ton of the meat, but Magwenzi said he would be requesting an additional two to three tons to be imported to meet high demand. “It has been phenomenal,” he said. “In fact, crocodile meat is better than chicken, better than pork. It has less cholesterol.”

The ambassador said crocodile meat started to be consumed in Zimbabwe in the 1980s and, while not necessarily considered a staple for an “ordinary family” because of its price, had grown quite common.

Would Italy, which currently bans the meat from being imported, be a new market for Zimbabwe? “That’s for the future. It would be subject to discussions with the Italian government but we haven’t started those discussions,” Magwenzi said.

Belgium already imports Zimbabwean crocodile meat, and crocodile meat from the Philippines is being served at dinner tables in Russia after Moscow banned imports of meat from the EU, Australia, Canada and Norway in retaliation for sanctions.

Zimbabwe was not the only country granted special permission to serve an unusual delicacy at the expo. Permission was also granted to the Japanese pavilion to serve fugu, a highly poisonous fish that can only be prepared by a professional who knows which parts are edible.

An expo official, Giacomo Biraghi, said Japan was allowed to import only a few kilos of the fish, and that it was consumed in a matter of days. There were no reported accidents.

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Fugu entered the western pop culture lexicon when it was featured in a Simpsons episode in 1991. In it, a Japanese chef nervously prepares a piece – while studying a diagram of how the fish must be cut – but is interrupted when Homer loudly demands: “I want fugu!” Later, Homer is told he may have only 22 hours to live after ingesting a possibly poisonous portion.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Fugu on The Simpsons.

In reality, the preparation of fugu is painstakingly handled by professional chefs in Japan, who wash the fish for 30min even after it has been filleted to remove any remnants of the poisonous blood.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A chef prepares fugu.

Belgium was blocked from importing insects it wanted to serve to expo visitors. “It is maybe the food of the future, but we said no,” said Biraghi. “Italian law prevailed.”