japan food labelling systems - an update_2015

Perspective of Food Labelling Systems in Japan: An Update

Toshitaka MASUDA

Food Labelling Division,

Consumer Affairs Agency,

Government of Japan

Consumer Affairs

Agency (CAA)

• An external organ of

the Cabinet Office

• Established on

September 1, 2009

Our mission

• To protect and promote consumer’s interest and benefit

• To ensure the voluntary and rational choice

of goods and services

• To ensure fair labelling of the goods closely

related with consumers’ life

Organization of Consumer Affairs Agency(As of 2014/7/1)

Consumer Safety Division

Policy Planning Division

General Affairs Division

䞉Personnel, accounting, organization, bill screening, Diet-related matters,

general affairs.

䞉Information systems, Policy Evaluation, Public relations.

Legal System Planning Division

▪ Organizing Relief System of the Damaged Consumers.

▪ Holding jurisdictions over the Whistle Blower Protection Act, Act on the Protection of

personal Information.

Consumer Education and Local CooperationDivision

Consumer Research Division

Consumer Transaction Division

RepresentationDivision

Food LabelingDivision

Prime Minister

Minister of State for Consumer Affairs

Senior Vice-Minister

Parliamentary Secretary of Cabinet Office

Secretary General

DeputySecretary General

4 Director- General

Counselor

��SHUVRQQHO

Consumer SafetyInvestigation Commission

Councils

Consumer EducationPromotion Council

(ConsumerAffairs Agency)

Division Main Administrative Work

There are other specialized offices or teams such as: “Office of Personal Information Protection”, “Cross-Division Team for enhancing the understanding of consumers related to food and radioactivity to prevent harmful rumors”, etc.

▪ Holding jurisdiction of food labeling, such as the Act on Standardization and Proper Quality Labeling of Agricultural and Forestry Products (JAS), Food Sanitation Act, Health Promotion Act , etc.

▪ Holding jurisdictions of Act on Specified Commercial Transactions, Act on Regulation of Transmission of Specified Electronic Mail, etc.

▪ Holding jurisdiction of representation, such as the Act against Unjustifiable Premiums and Misleading Representations, Housing Quality Assurance Act and the Household Goods Quality Labeling Act.

▪ Consumer education, raising awareness and disseminating information to consumers.▪ Policy Planning relating to local consumer policy and assisting /Promoting local consumer

administration. ▪ Handling over the matter relating to NCAC.

▪ Researching and Issuing the White Paper on consumer affairs. ▪ Disseminating information to businesses. ▪ Price Monitoring based on the Act on Emergency Measures for Stabilization of National Life

and Price Control ordinance.

▪ Collecting ,analyzing and disseminating information concerning consumer troubles and Administrative action for “niche area case” that cannot be addressed by any other law, pursuant to the Consumer Safety Act (relating to life and body injuries).

▪ Reporting serious product accidents according to the Consumer Product Safety Act.▪ Planning of basic policy measures and coordinating risk communication based on the Food

Safety Basic Act.▪ Secretariat of Consumer Safety Investigation Commission Survey of consumer accident to

support the Commission (relating to life and body injuries).

䞉 Planning/promoting the basic policies including Consumer Basic Plan.䞉 Policy Coordination with relevant ministries and agencies. 䞉 Collecting , analyzing and disseminating information concerning consumer troubles and

Administrative action for “niche area case” that cannot be addressed by any other law, pursuant to the Consumer Safety Act (relating to property).

Toshitaka MASUDA

Government of Japan

Consumer Affairs

Agency (CAA)

the Cabinet Office

• Established on

September 1, 2009

Our mission

general affairs.

Prime Minister

Secretary General

4 Director- General

Counselor

��SHUVRQQHO

Councils

Toshitaka MASUDA

Government of Japan

Consumer Affairs

Agency (CAA)

the Cabinet Office

• Established on

September 1, 2009

Our mission

general affairs.

Prime Minister

Secretary General

4 Director- General

Counselor

��SHUVRQQHO

Councils

Toshitaka MASUDA

Government of Japan

Consumer Affairs

Agency (CAA)

the Cabinet Office

• Established on

September 1, 2009

Our mission

general affairs.

Prime Minister

Secretary General

4 Director- General

Counselor

��SHUVRQQHO

Councils

• Perspective of Food Labelling–Acts previously concerning food labelling–A newly promulgated act: the Food Labelling

Act of 2013– Introduction of mandatory nutrition labelling

Topics

Food Sanitation Act Japan Agricultural Standard Act* Health Promotion Act

䛆Purpose䛇• To prevent the sanitation hazards resulting from eating and drinking

䛆 Purpose 䛇• To improve quality of agricultural and forestry products•To help consumers choose products by enforcing proper quality labelling of them

䛆 Purpose 䛇• To improve nutritional status and promote health

•Establishment of the necessary criteria for the labelling of food to serve for the purpose of marketing (Article 19)

• Enforcing the regulations concerning Food and Additives, Apparatus and Containers and Packaging• Prohibition of the sales for the products which do not conform to the standards and/or criteria •Giving approval to a person who intends to conduct business from the prefectural governor

• Enactment of labelling standards to be observed by Manufacturer, etc. (Article 19-13)• Compliance with Standards for Quality Labelling (Article 19-13-2)

• Enactment of Japanese Agricultural Standards • Grading in accordance with Japanese Agricultural Standards

• Enactment of nutrition labelling standards (Article 31)• Compliance with Standards

(Article 31-2) etc.

• Set a general policies• Implementation of the national health and nutrition survey• Prevention of passive smoking• License pertaining to Food for Special Dietary Uses

Concerning food labelling

Otherconcerns

Issue 1: There had been a number of various notifications under these three Acts.

*Act on Standardization and Proper Quality Labelling of Agricultural and Forestry Products 7

Acts previously concerning food labelling in Japan

㻶㻭㻿㻌㻭㼏㼠 Food Sanitation Act

To ensure safety of products

Food Additives

Allergy

Ingredients

Net contents

country of origin

To improve quality of products

Instructions on keeping

Genetic modification

Name of manufacturer

shelf-life

Name of product

㻴㼑㼍㼘㼠㼔㻌㻼㼞㼛㼙㼛㼠㼕㼛㼚㻌㻭㼏㼠䠄Nutrition Labelling is voluntary䠅

Etc.Etc.

Issue 2: Several definitions differ among these three Acts.Issue 3: Nutrition labelling was voluntary in the previous system.

Diagram of the Acts previouslyconcerning food labelling in Japan

JAS Act: Japan Agricultural Standard Act

Topics

(Article 31-2) etc.

Otherconcerns

Food Additives

Allergy

Ingredients

Net contents

country of origin

shelf-life

Name of product

Etc.Etc.

Topics

(Article 31-2) etc.

Otherconcerns

Food Additives

Allergy

Ingredients

Net contents

country of origin

shelf-life

Name of product

Etc.Etc.

Topics

(Article 31-2) etc.

Otherconcerns

Food Additives

Allergy

Ingredients

Net contents

country of origin

shelf-life

Name of product

Etc.Etc.

Topics

One year round-table discussion(From Sep. 2011 to Aug. 2012)

Report(Aug. 2012)

Food Labelling Bill

Cabinet approval(June 14, 2013)

Proclamation (June 28, 2013)

To address these issues:1. Some different definition among Acts2. Many and various notifications under Acts3. Voluntary nutrition labelling

Progress toward the new Act

Objectives:

• To ensure food safety while eating and drinking• To ensure general consumers’

opportunities to select food subjectively and rationally

The New Food Labelling Act

Areas of focus:

• Establishment of a comprehensive system regarding food labelling

: some different definitions among Acts are standardized (e.g. “fresh food” and “processed food)

• Introduction of mandatory nutrition labelling

The New Food Labelling Act (Cont.)

Topics

Report(Aug. 2012)

Food Labelling Bill

Objectives:

Areas of focus:

Topics

Report(Aug. 2012)

Food Labelling Bill

Objectives:

Areas of focus:

Topics

Report(Aug. 2012)

Food Labelling Bill

Objectives:

Areas of focus:

Specific rules under the new Act

Food Labelling Standard

(Came into effect on April 1, 2015)

• Perspective of Food Labelling

–Acts previously concerning food labelling

–A newly promulgated act: the Food Labelling

Act of 2013

– Introduction of mandatory nutrition labelling

Topics

[Points of discussion]Consumer Affairs Agency (CAA) considered:

1. Which nutrients should be mandatory?

2. What kinds of food should be exempted?

3. What kinds of manufacturers should be exempted?

Mandatory nutrition labelling[Points of discussion (cont.)]

4. Whether the breakdown of the declarations should be

introduced or not?

5. Whether amounts of sodium should be declared as

sodium or salt equivalents?

6. Reviewing Nutrient Reference Values (NRVs)

EnergyProteinFatCarbohydrateSodiumSaturated Fatty Acid

EnergyProteinFat

Saturated Fatty AcidCarbohydrateSodium

Act of 2013

Topics

introduced or not?

EnergyProteinFat

Act of 2013

Topics

introduced or not?

EnergyProteinFat

Act of 2013

Topics

introduced or not?

EnergyProteinFat

[Points of discussion]Consumer Affairs Agency considered:

Mandatory nutrition labelling[Approach]• Considering the following three points, requirements for nutrition

declaration were decided for the new standard.

1. The need of declaration for the consumer (in relation to the national intake level, non-communicable diseases, etc.)

2. The feasibility of such labelling for the food business operators

3. International consistency

When a nutrient meets all of the above aspects, declaration of such nutrient becomes mandatory.

[New Standard]Mandatory Energy, Protein, Fat, Carbohydrates, Sodium (as Salt equivalent)Voluntary Vitamins, minerals, etc other than those written above

Mandatory and Voluntary Nutrition Declaration

Mandatory nutrition labelling

Processed Food (Prepackaged Food)

Fresh Food Food Additives

Mandatory 䕿*1 㽢䕿*1

Voluntary 䕿䕿䕿

*1 Excluding food for business use. Also, food products which fulfill the following criteria can be omit the mandatory nutrition declaration labelling.• A small packaged product• Alcoholic beverages• A food product contains insignificant amount of nutrients• A food product sold by small business operators

[New Standard]

䕿: applied 㽢: exempted

Target food products for nutrition declaration in the Food Labelling Standard

Voluntary 䕿䕿䕿

[New Standard]

Voluntary 䕿䕿䕿

[New Standard]

Voluntary 䕿䕿䕿

[New Standard]

[Points of discussion (cont.)]

4. Whether breakdown of the declarations should be

introduced or not?

EnergyProteinFatSaturated Fatty AcidCarbohydrateSodium

Nutrition Declaration

Reference amount (per 100g or 100ml,

per serving (indicate the mount for one

serving), per package or other unit)

Energy kcal

Protein g

Carbohydrate g

Salt equivalent g

Format 1

Declaration of mandatory

nutrients only

Nutrition Declaration Format

Reference amount (per 100g or 100ml, per serving (indicate

the mount for one serving), per package or other unit)

Energy kcal

Protein g

- Saturated fat g

- n-3 fatty acid g

- n-6 fatty acid g

Cholesterol mg

Carbohydrate g

- Available carbohydrate g

- Sugars g

- Dietary fiber g

Salt equivalent g

(Other nutrients other than written above) mg, μg

Format 2

Declaration of voluntary

nutrients in addition to

mandatory nutrients

*1 A voluntary

nutrient which

amount is not

declared can be

omitted from this

format.

*2 In case the use of a

frame is difficult, a

frame can be

omitted.

Nutrition Declaration Format[Points of discussion (cont.)]

introduced or not?

Energy kcal

Protein g

Carbohydrate g

Salt equivalent g

Format 1

nutrients only

Energy kcal

Protein g

- Saturated fat g

- n-3 fatty acid g

- n-6 fatty acid g

Cholesterol mg

Carbohydrate g

- Sugars g

- Dietary fiber g

Salt equivalent g

Format 2

mandatory nutrients

*1 A voluntary

nutrient which

amount is not

declared can be

omitted from this

format.

frame can be

omitted.

introduced or not?

Energy kcal

Protein g

Carbohydrate g

Salt equivalent g

Format 1

nutrients only

Energy kcal

Protein g

- Saturated fat g

- n-3 fatty acid g

- n-6 fatty acid g

Cholesterol mg

Carbohydrate g

- Sugars g

- Dietary fiber g

Salt equivalent g

Format 2

mandatory nutrients

*1 A voluntary

nutrient which

amount is not

declared can be

omitted from this

format.

frame can be

omitted.

introduced or not?

Energy kcal

Protein g

Carbohydrate g

Salt equivalent g

Format 1

nutrients only

Energy kcal

Protein g

- Saturated fat g

- n-3 fatty acid g

- n-6 fatty acid g

Cholesterol mg

Carbohydrate g

- Sugars g

- Dietary fiber g

Salt equivalent g

Format 2

mandatory nutrients

*1 A voluntary

nutrient which

amount is not

declared can be

omitted from this

format.

frame can be

omitted.

introduced or not?

• Derivation of NRVs–Based on DGs or RDAs from 2015 Dietary

Reference Intakes for Japanese

– Target population: male and female aged 18 years and older

–A population-weighted average of age and gender-specific DGs or RDAs for each nutrient

* DG: Tentative Dietary Goal for preventing LRDs

* RDA: Recommended Dietary Allowance

㻺㼡㼠㼞㼕㼑㼚㼠㻌㻾㼑㼒㼑㼞㼑㼚㼏㼑㻌㼂㼍㼘㼡㼑㼟㻌㻔㻺㻾㼂㼟㻕

• Nutrient Comparative Claims

• Non-addition claims

Health Claims

Claim Nutrient New Standard CODEX (reference)

“Reduced” “Less than”“Fewer” or a synonymous claim

Energy, Fat, Saturated Fat,Cholesterol, Sugars, Sodium

• A minimum absolute difference equivalent to the figure defined as “low”

• A relative difference of at least 25% between the compared foods

• A minimum absolute difference equivalent to the figure defined as “low” or as a “source” in the Table to the Guidelines

(CAC/GL 23-1997)

“Increased”“More than” or a synonymous claim

Protein,Dietary fiber

• A minimum absolute difference equivalent to the figure defined as a “source”

Minerals (other than sodium), Vitamins

• A difference of at least 10%of NRVs between the compared foods (both solids and liquids)

A difference of at least 10% of NRVs between the compared foods (both solids and liquids)

Nutrient Comparative Claims

* Underlined parts are the parts changed from the previous standard.

[Approach]• In response to the inclusion of non-addition claims in the

Codex Guidelines (CAC/GL 23-1997), the same conditions shall be prescribed in the new standard.

• “Sugars” have been included in the mandatory nutrition declaration at the revision of the Codex Guidelines (CAC/GL 2-1985) in 2011, whereas “sugars” are voluntary declaration in Japan. Therefore, it shall be mandatory to declare the amount of “sugars” when making a claim regarding the non-addition of sugars.

[New Standard]The conditions prescribed in the Codex Guidelines (CAC/GL 23-1997) were adopted.

Non-addition Claims

Health Claims

(CAC/GL 23-1997)

Non-addition Claims

Health Claims

(CAC/GL 23-1997)

Non-addition Claims

Health Claims

(CAC/GL 23-1997)

Non-addition Claims

Non-addition Claims䠄Reference䠅7.1 Non-Addition of Sugars

Claims regarding the non-addition of sugars to a food may be made provided the following conditions are met.

(a) No sugars of any type have been added to the food (Examples: sucrose, glucose, honey, molasses, corn syrup, etc.);

(b) The food contains no ingredients that contain sugars as an ingredient (Examples: jams, jellies, sweetened chocolate, sweetened fruit pieces, etc.);

(c) The food contains no ingredients containing sugars that substitute for added sugars (Examples: non-reconstituted concentrated fruit juice, dried fruit paste, etc.); and

(d) The sugars content of the food itself has not been increased above the amount contributed by the ingredients by some other means (Example: the use of enzymes to hydrolyzed starches to release sugars).

Non-addition Claims䠄Reference䠅7.2 Non-Addition of Sodium Salts

Claims regarding the non-addition of sodium salts to a food, including “no added salt”, may be made provided the following conditions are met*.

(a) The food contains no added sodium salts, including but not limited to sodium chloride, sodium tripolyphosphate;

(b) The food contains no ingredients that contain added sodium salts, including but not limited to Worcestershire sauce, pickles, pepperoni, soya sauce, salted fish, fish sauce; and

(c) The food contains no ingredients that contain sodium salts that are used to substitute for added salt, including but not limited to seaweed.* Competent authorities may permit the addition for technological purposes of sodium salts other than sodium chloride as long as the final food would still comply with the conditions for “low in sodium” claims as described in the Table to these Guidelines

Thank you very muchfor your attention.

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