Interpretation of Japan's New Food Labeling Law (1)

A .
Japan's new food labeling law Overview of
April 1, 2015, Japan began to implement the new "Food Labeling Law" (Law No.
70 of 2013)
.
The "Food Labeling Law" integrates thefood labeling related content in the"JAS" Law, the Food Sanitation Law , and the Health Promotion Law, and uniformly regulates the overall content related to food labeling
.


The specific food labeling rules are regulated by the Cabinet Office Order "Food Labeling Standards" (announced on March 20, 2015, 749 pages in total)
.
At the end of March 2015, the Consumer Affairs Agency issued a notice "About Food Labeling" (No.
139 of the Digestion Table of March 30, 2015, 405 pages in total) supplementing and explaining the "Food Labeling Standards"
.
On the same day, the Department of Consumer Affairs also issued the "Questions and Answers on Food Labeling Standards" (No.
140, Digestion Form, March 30, 2015, 553 pages)
.
In order to correctly understand the Japanese food labeling system, it is necessary to carefully study these huge pieces of information
.
On April 1, 2015, Japan set a transition period for the system when it implemented the new food labeling law
.
The transition period is five years for processed foods and additives, and one and a half years for fresh foods
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That is to say, processed foods and additives produced on March 31, 2020 can be applied to the old labeling standard; fresh foods can be applied to the old labeling standard until September 31, 2016; foods sold for business use on March 31, 2020 can be applied Old logo benchmark
.
　　The transition period is set to consume old packaging materials and labels.
Therefore, the new labeling standards should be applied as soon as possible during the transition period
.
　　It is worth noting that the old labeling standard and the new labeling standard shall not be mixed in the same product
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For example, the new nutrition labeling in accordance with a reference mark, allergens under the old system still is not allowed to identify and, where applicable benchmark must identify all new projects had to perform a new benchmark.

 
    Two .
The new labeling system with the old system for the old 5 big changes point
    1 .
Sort out the distinction between processed foods and fresh foods:
　　simple processing is classified into processed foods, such as dried mangoes are classified into processed foods
.

    2.
Modified the relevant regulations on the inherent number of the place of manufacture: in
　　principle, the same product is allowed to be used when produced in more than two factories, and it is required to indicate the customer service contact information and website when using the inherent number of the place of manufacture
.

    3.
Change the logo frame:
    1) The safety-related logo cannot be omitted when the logo may be displayed with a surface of less than 30cm ²
.

    2) Require separate identification of raw materials and additives
.

    4.
Revise the rules of allergen labeling:
　　follow the principle of individual labeling and allow collective labeling, and all allergens are required to be marked out in the collective labeling
.
Abolish specific processed foods and expand labeling rules
.

    5.
Mandatory labeling of nutritional components: In
　　principle, all processed foods and additives provided to consumers are mandatory to be labeled with five nutritional components including calories, protein, fat, carbohydrate, and sodium, and two types of saturated fatty acids and dietary fiber are recommended.
Nutritional ingredients
.
Sodium is required to be marked as salt equivalent
.
Three .
Framework of the new labeling system
 
    
　　In the new food labeling standard, in order to clearly explain the relevant regulations, food is divided into "processed food", "fresh food", and "additives"; food providers are further divided into "food practitioners who provide food to general consumers".
"Food practitioners who provide food for business use" and "sales other than food practitioners (such as bazaars, etc.
)"
.
According to the above classification of foods and food providers, they are divided into 3X3, 9 categories, and the content of the required markings for each category is different
.
    The specific distinctions are as follows:
     1) Processed food requires marking ①Name ②Preservation method ③Expiry period or taste period ④Additive ⑤Nutrition and calorie ⑥Manufacturing place, processing place or importer location ⑦Allergen⑧GMO related content
.
Others are also required to mark ⑨contents containing L-phenylalanine⑩functional foods⑾infant and young children food⑿ food labeling standards attached to Table 19 (such as milk and dairy products, meat products, etc.
12 items) and so on
.
     2) fresh food labeling requirements for specified health food-related content ① ② functional food-related content ③GMO related content ④ ⑤ baby food labeling food standard Schedule 24 specified content
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     ② additive claims the method for storing the expiration date or the numerals ① ③ ④ tasting period of manufacture, processing or use States location ⑤ ⑥ ⑦ other ingredients and weight percentages and the like
.