Label Claims and Import/Export (Japan)

The transitional period of the guideline of additive labeling for use of ‘non-use’ (March, 2022)*1 ended at the end of March, 2024. During this period, there’s been a gradual change observed in the labeling of food products in stores　in terms of changes made in accordance with the content of these guidelines. This article summarizes practical… more »

Fourth FY2023 Food Labeling Discussion Meeting And Third Discussion on Initiatives of Easy-to-understand Nutrition Facts held (Japan)

The fourth Fiscal 2023 Food Labeling Discussion Meeting The fourth Fiscal 2023 Food Labeling Discussion Meeting was held on the 7th of March, 2024. The document Draft Summary of Fiscal 2023 Food Labeling Discussion Meeting provides a summary of the discussions held in the first three meetings. Here are the main points of the document.… more »

Regarding Food Labeling Standards, Food Labeling Standards Q&A revised (Japan)-Addition of macadamia nuts and deletion of “matsutake mushroom” from the list of recommended labeling for allergens-

On March 28, 2024, the Consumer Affairs Agency (CAA) announced revisions to Regarding Food Labeling Standards and Food Labeling Standards Q&A. The main contents of this revision include the addition of “macadamia nuts” and deletion of “matsutake mushroom” from the list of recommended labeling for allergens. The following is the summary of the main points… more »

About Labeling Rules for Individual Food Items (Japan)

On January 30, 2024, at the Third Fiscal 2023 Food Labeling Discussion Meeting the revision of the labeling rules set for individual food items was discussed. A useful material has been provided as an easy-to-understand summary of the current issues titled [Reference] Labeling Rules for Individual Items and I would like to go through it… more »

2nd Discussion on Initiatives for Easy-to-understand Nutrition Facts held (Japan)

The 2nd Discussion on the initiatives for easy-to-understand Nutrition Facts labeling (hereafter referred as to the Discussion)  was held on January 31, 2024. I would like to summarize the content of the second round of the Discussion based on the published materials. What is the Front-of-Pack Nutrition Labelling (FOPNL)? The published material 2 – titled… more »

Revision Draft to add “macadamia nuts” to and delete “matsutake mushroom” from the list of the allergens for recommended labeling announced (Japan)

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. After the… more »

About Food Label Creation and Checking

I explained the importance of understanding the overall outline of the Food Labeling Standards　(the Standards, the Notifications, the Guidelines) and cross-sectional/individual, structure in an external lecture entitled “Food Labeling Standards and Important Points in Practice” the other day. At that time, I mentioned how difficult to operate “tasks seemingly easy to do without special pieces… more »