Food safety (Tokyo, Japan)最新文献

In Japan, the Positive List (PL) system was introduced (Enforcement: June 1, 2020) in the regulative field of Food Apparatus, Containers, and Packaging (ACP) by the recent amendment of the Food Sanitation Act. Under this situation, continuous requests for the risk assessments from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) to the Food Safety Commission of Japan (FSCJ) will be expected. To enhance fairness and transparency and to clarify the data required for the risk assessment, the FSCJ established its "Guidelines for the Risk Assessment of Food Apparatus, Containers, and Packaging" on May 28, 2019. The Guidelines apply to new Food Contact Materials or Substances (FCMs) after enforcement of the PL system (June 1, 2020). The subject material is synthetic resins, because the PL system was first introduced to them in Japan. In general, the substances that are migrated from ACP are not intended to migrate into foods, and their technological effects on foods are not expected. It can be supposed that the migration of these substances is generally very limited. Therefore, as adopted in the USA and the EU, the Guidelines also adopt the tiered approach for the toxicological data requirement that depend on the estimated migration levels (Tier of Dietary Concentration (Tier of DC)) on the subject substance. The greater the exposure to the substance through migration, the more toxicity test results will be needed. The risk assessment steps by the tiered approach in the Guidelines are (1) migration assessment, (2) toxicity assessment, (3) exposure assessment, and (4) risk characterization. These steps are aimed to harmonize with the general 4 steps of risk assessments: hazard identification, hazard characterization, exposure assessment, and risk characterization. In this review, we will introduce the overview of the Guidelines and details of the above 4 steps.

Key topics related to risk communication and food safety were investigated by three different expert groups. In this study, the Delphi method was used to systematically and iteratively aggregate experts' opinions, and the topics to be communicated to consumers were expressed and prioritized. The opinions of three groups, consisting of 26 members of the expert committee (EC) from the Food Safety Commission of Japan (FSCJ), 29 local government officials (LGOs) from their respective food safety departments, and 25 food safety monitors (FSM) appointed by the FSCJ, were obtained in the period of June through September 2017. "Safety and security concept" was identified and ranked high in all groups. This topic identified "Zero-risk" demand of consumers without understanding risks as the reverse side of safety. The EC group prioritized additional issues, such as "concept of risk" and "safety costs and relevant risk management". The LGO and FSM groups prioritized specific hazard items for food poisoning and preventive measures. With regard to the so-called "health foods", the EC and LGO groups indicated insufficient transmission of scientific evidence from the government to consumers, and the FSM group indicated insufficient understanding by consumers of the food labeling system for health and nutrition. Because consumers do not fully understand all concepts of food safety, governments are encouraged to disseminate the probability of risk and the knowledge of risk reduction directly to the consumers by using simple and easy-to-understand terms.

Basic Act on allergic diseases measures was enforced in 2015, in order to improve the living environment of Japanese population via enhancing food labeling of concerned allergic ingredients. Food Safety Commission of Japan (FSCJ), then, deemed it necessary to examine this Japanese allergen labeling system. Labeling is currently mandatory for 7 ingredients, and in addition, recommended for 21 distinct ingredients. FSCJ chose to conduct a self-tasking risk assessment on hen-eggs labeling, as hen-eggs show high prevalence of allergy cases out of those presented ingredients. Hen-eggs were specifically focused on this assessment due to the available amount of data. There have been no incidents of hen-egg protein-derived allergic reactions at levels below the "threshold concentration", which was set at 10 μg of allergenic protein per 1 g of food for the labeling purpose of Japan's system. On the practical aspect, allergen contamination in pre-packaged foods is continuously prevented through good hygiene practices. Introduction of mandatory HACCP-based approach in the food industry of Japan contributed to appropriate controls, including prevention of labeling errors among others. In conclusion, FSCJ judged the current allergen labeling system on hen-eggs in Japan to be generally appropriate based on the currently available evidences.

Anisakiasis is a gastrointestinal disease caused by infection with anisakid nematodes. Anisakis larvae have been listed as distinct food poisoning agents in the manual of Food Poisoning Statistics, Japan since 2013. The reported numbers of food poisoning cases caused by Anisakis larvae are gradually increasing. A total of 94.0% of the causative larvae species were identified as Anisakis simplex sensu stricto (A. simplex), and 4.4% were identified as Anisakis pegreffii, among human-isolated anisakid nematodes examined in Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Public Health, Japan from 2011 to 2018. Anisakis species infecting fishes in Japanese waters differ depending on their habitat and depth. A. simplex mainly infects fishes in the Pacific side of Japan, and A. pegreffii mainly infects fishes in the East China Sea and Sea of Japan sides. Regarding the causative foods of anisakiasis, cases by ingestion of mackerel (Scomber spp.) have been the most common in Japan, and cases caused by eating "marinated mackerel" accounted for 32.8% of the total in Tokyo from 2011 to 2017. However, the number of reports of food poisoning caused by skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis) was highest in May 2018 in Japan. A parasitological surveys of Anisakis third-stage larvae in skipjack tuna in Japanese waters were conducted in 2018 and 2019, and it was confirmed that more A. simplex infections of skipjack tuna may have occurred in 2018 than usual due to the meandering flow of the Black Current. Moreover, a portion of A. simplex larvae migrated from visceral organs to the ventral muscle in live skipjack tuna before capture, suggesting that an extensive cold chain after capture cannot prevent anisakiasis. In fish species that were reported to be high frequency of causative food of anisakiasis, it is necessary to freeze or at least remove the ventral muscle.

In the Japanese allergy-labeling system, food labeling is mandated for 7 specific ingredients (egg, cow's milk, wheat, buckwheat, peanut, shrimp, and crab) and recommended for 21 food ingredients in reference to case numbers of actual illness and the degree of seriousness. To monitor the validity of the labeling system, official methods for the detection of specific ingredient proteins in processed foods were developed. The official methods consist of ELISA methods for screening, and western blot methods for egg and milk, and PCR methods for wheat, buckwheat, peanut, shrimp/prawn, and crab as confirmation tests. The official methods consist of ELISA methods for screening, and western blot methods for egg and milk, and PCR methods for wheat, buckwheat, peanut, shrimp/prawn, and crab as confirmation tests. Threshold amounts (a few mg/kg) for labeling were set based on the approach of the analytical detections. Any foods containing protein allergens should be labeled if these contain allergens at greater than 10 ppm (mg/kg). Validation protocol criteria were established to standardize the Japanese official method. Food Safety Commission of Japan conducted a risk assessment of egg as a specific ingredient and judged that current labeling system for foods containing allergens is generally appropriate for "eggs". In the future, it is important to accumulate necessary scientific knowledge in order to carry out food health impact assessment including further refinement. The Japanese experience and knowledge of food allergy-labeling system would contribute to harmonize international labeling guidelines to protect allergic consumers globally.

Campylobacter food poisoning is one of the major bacterial foodborne diseases resulting in numerous outbreaks worldwide. Particularly in Japan, one-fourth of the total food poisoning is caused by Campylobacter jejuni/coli. Raw and/or undercooked poultry meat and meat products are known as the main cause of campylobacteriosis. Consequently, effective and immediate actions are needed to eliminate or at least reduce campylobacteriosis. This study aimed at examining the Japanese food regulation system, comparing it with those in the USA and Australia, and making necessary recommendations for a better control of campylobacteriosis in Japan. The study was conducted by a thorough investigation of published literatures, governmental documents, statistical and epidemiological data and public information. The results led to recommendations that the Japanese food regulation authority should consider the following suggestions in order to control campylobacteriosis: 1) assess the Campylobacter safety at the end of processing stage of chicken supply chain based on risk assessment using quantitative/qualitative baseline data collected over Japan, 2) establish a national Campylobacter strategy, including specific campylobacteriosis reduction goals and criteria, and 3) provide the small food business operators with sufficient training and support to implement a Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) as an obligatory food safety requirement. It is acknowledged that it would be difficult to apply foreign regulations directly to Japanese food regulation system due to differences in food culture, regulation, industry structure, and data collection systems. Thus, flexible application is required. Finding and conducting effective Campylobacter control measures can decrease contaminated live birds and chicken meat in Japan, home to a unique food culture of eating raw and/or undercooked chicken meat called Torisashi such as sashimi, tataki and yubiki chicken. Consequently, potentially available research data may be instrumental in finding solutions for reducing campylobacteriosis. Eliminating Campylobacter food poisoning cases in Japan will be a significant achievement in ensuring Japanese and global food safety.