The Consumer Affairs Agency (CAA) announced that it planned to revise “Regarding Food Labeling Standards” within the current fiscal year (by the end of March, 2024) in a set of the materials of the “The 6th Advisors’ Meeting on Food Allergen (13 December, 2023)”.
The main points of the revision are as follows.
- To add macadamia nuts to and delete matsutake mushrooms from the list of the allergens for recommended labeling.
- After the revision, food-related business operators shall review their labels as soon as possible.
| After the revision (New) | Before the revision (Old) |
| Specified raw material equivalents (for recommended labeling for allergen stipulated in the Regarding Food Labeling Standards) | Specified raw material equivalents (for recommended labeling for allergen stipulated in the Regarding Food Labeling Standards) |
|---|---|
| Almond, Abalone, Squid, Salmon roe, Orange, Cashew nuts, Kiwifruit, Beef, Sesame seed, Salmon, Mackerel, Soybean, Chicken, Banana, Pork, Macadamia Nuts (newly added), |
Almond, Abalone, Squid, Salmon roe, Orange, Cashew nuts, Kiwifruit, Beef, Sesame seed, Salmon, Mackerel, Soybean, Chicken, Banana, Pork, Matsutake mushroom, Peach, Yam, Apple, Gelatin |
The addition of macadamia nuts to the list of recommended labeling for allergens is based on the following requirements being met.
– In the results of the two most recent national fact-finding surveys of allergens, those that are in the top 20 items in terms of the number of immediate allergy cases.
On the other hand, the removal of matsutake mushroom from the list is based on the following requirements being met.
– In the results of the four most recent national fact-finding surveys of allergens, those that are not in the top 20 items in terms of the number of immediate allergy cases.
– In the inspection results of the four most recent national fact-finding surveys of allergens, the number of shock cases is extremely small.
In addition to Changes in the Number of Immediate-Type Cases and Shock Cases (p.g. 7) for each target product, the table, Changes in the Number of Cases and Import Volume of Macadamia Nuts, etc. (p.g.9) is also included in the materials. As you can see, the number of cases of macadamia nut allergy cases has increased along with walnut and cashew nut cases over the past 10 years (The numbers of immediate-type and shock cases of macadamia nut allergy have increased from 1 to 45 and 1 to 5, respectively, from 2011 to 2020). In addition, the information such as
– Designation of nuts as allergens in other countries (p.g. 8) (e.g. macadamia nuts are designated in the United States, the European Union, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, etc.)
– The results of the fact-finding survey on processed foods using macadamia nuts (p.g.11) (e.g.The fact that more food businesses have started to sell products containing macadamia nuts since the beginning of the 2020s, and the use of them in a ground form (as opposed to whole) has increased since 2022.)
is provided.
It would be helpful to read the materials shown above when reviewing the labels of your products so that you can check the number of cases and the related information for each allergen including the ones in your products. We will post more if there are any updates on the allergens in Japan.
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Label bank Co., Ltd. CEO (Founder)
Born in Japan. Working on solving various issues related to food labeling operations. Also regularly gives lectures for various organizations in Japan.
Co-author of ‘Latest edition: Guide book Food Labeling Law and related business practical points – from scratch (Japanese version only)’ (DAI-ICHI HOKI CO., LTD/2019).
