Japanese Food Sanitation Act

[Alethia Tiell]

Thepurpose of the Japanese Food Sanitation Law is to ensure the safety of food by implementing necessary regulations and other measures from a public health perspective, thereby preventing the occurrence of health hazards caused by food and drink, and aiming to protect the health of the nation.

Under the provisions of the Japanese Food Sanitation Act, only restaurants and companies that have obtained business permission can operate in the food and beverage industry. The types of businesses that require business permission can be broadly divided into the following categories:

If you are running a cafe, you should already have a restaurant business permit, but in the case of internet sales, separate business permission based on the Japanese Food Sanitation Act may be required.

If you are already operating a restaurant in a physical store, you should have obtained the qualifications of a Food Sanitation Supervisor. However, if you are not operating a restaurant in a physical store and are starting to sell food online from scratch, you will need to obtain the qualifications of a Food Sanitation Supervisor.

The purpose of the Japanese Food Sanitation Act is to prevent accidents caused by food contamination, spoilage, and food poisoning. In the context of the Food Sanitation Act, food sanitation refers to the hygiene related to food, additives, utensils, and containers & packaging. This includes not only food but also additives contained in food, utensils used for cooking, and containers & packaging.

Food is defined as all food and drink excluding pharmaceuticals and quasi-drugs (Article 4 of the Food Sanitation Act). This includes not only food and beverages but also, for example, toys that infants may put in their mouths are also subject to regulation.

Utensils refer to tableware, cutlery, and other items used for the collection, manufacture, processing, cooking, storage, transportation, display, delivery, or intake of food or additives, and machines, utensils, and other items that come into direct contact with food or additives.

The Japanese Food Sanitation Act sets various rules to ensure that safe food reaches consumers. For example, under Article 55 of the Japanese Food Sanitation Act, permission from the prefectural governor or equivalent authority is required to operate a business that handles food, such as a restaurant. This permission is not a one-time acquisition, but must be renewed every few years.

Furthermore, the handling of food that does not meet established standards and criteria, such as manufacturing, processing, use, cooking, and sales, is prohibited unless it is in a manner prescribed by the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare.

In addition, there are various rules, such as prohibiting the sale of newly developed food until its safety can be confirmed (Article 7 of the Japanese Food Sanitation Act), and prohibiting the sale of meat from animals that were sick (Article 10 of the Japanese Food Sanitation Act). Compliance with these rules ensures food safety.

With the progression of societal changes such as a declining birthrate, an aging population, an increase in dual-income households, and the globalization of food due to an increase in dining out, takeout, and imported food, the number of food poisoning cases and victims has been said to be on a downward trend. Many of these food poisoning cases occur in restaurants and stores that sell bento boxes and catering, but with the expansion of distribution, the environment is becoming more conducive to the spread of food poisoning. To break this trend and reduce food poisoning, a law amending part of the Japanese Food Sanitation Act was enacted in June 2018 (Heisei 30) and came into effect in June 2020 (Reiwa 2). This amendment significantly changes the following seven items.

HACCP is a sanitation management system that ensures food safety. It has become an international standard as it is useful for preventing food accidents and quickly identifying the cause when an accident occurs. In Japan, the system had not been fully implemented, especially among small and medium-sized businesses, so it was decided to institutionalize it.

When health damage suspected to be related to food containing components that require special attention as determined by the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare occurs, it is now mandatory for businesses to report this information to the administration. The aim is to collect damage information and accurately report the health damage risk that could occur when consumed, to prevent further damage.

With the institutionalization of sanitation management in accordance with HACCP, businesses that did not previously require a business permit (those that have their own permit system in the municipality) are now required to notify or obtain permission for their business. As a result, prefectures can now grasp what kind of food businesses are in each region, and it has become possible to implement more thorough sanitation management and guidance for businesses.

Also, for the issuance of sanitation certificates for food exports, it is now mandatory to go through administrative procedures such as the issuance of sanitation certificates by the national and local governments to demonstrate compliance with the sanitation requirements of the importing country.

Monolith Law Office is a legal office with high expertise in both IT, particularly the Internet, and law. In recent years, the need for legal checks surrounding online shopping has been increasing. Taking into account various legal regulations, our firm analyzes the legal risks associated with businesses that have already started or are about to start, and aims to legalize them as much as possible without stopping the business. Details are described in the article below.

"The Partial Revision of the Food Sanitation Act" was promulgated on June 13, 2018. It was taken effect on June 1, 2020, which is named as "The Food Sanitation Law: No.196 and No.380." (Please note that "The Food Sanitation Law No.196 and No.380" is a subgroup of "The Food Sanitation Law No.370," so the certificate of No.370 is still valid.) HAKKO CORPORATION manages and responds in accordance with the new Food Sanitation Law.

HAKKO CORPORATION has already prepared for a document (Self-Declaration Form) to provide information in accordance with the Positive List System. If you request the self-declaration document, please contact us from here.

About 15 years have passed since the previous revision of the Food Sanitation Act, despite the changes in household structures and in the environments surrounding food (such as increasing demand of prepared food, eating out and snacks as well as progress in food globalization such as increasing imported food).

The two revisions that are particularly relevant to hose and tubing are "2. Systematization of Health Management in line with HACCP" and "4. Development of internationally consistent sanitary Regulations for Food Utensils, Containers and Packaging."

7. Others (Establishment of Import Requirements such as the Attachment of Health Certificates for Dairy Products and Fishery Foods and Establishment of Regulations concerning Food Export-related Affairs by Local Governments)

All food business operators (manufacturer, processing, cooking and sales of food products) will prepare sanitation management plans, based on A and B below. *Certification is not required under the current system.

In addition to sanitation management based on HACCP, facilities criteria and additional requirements (Implementation of Microorganism Tests and Monitoring of Residual Animal Drugs, etc.) required by importing countries must be met.

Hygiene management based on HACCP standards is now required. Food grade hoses also need to be improved in terms of washability, prevention of contamination and other aspects of hygiene management. However, as stated in the "Certification is not required under the current system," it is not necessary to obtain certification.

The standards for containers and packaging include (1) general standards applicable to all materials (2) standards applicable to each material (3) classifying standards by use requiring safety consideration and (4) manufacturing standards. A positive list system that allows the use of only substances whose safety has been evaluated in the case of plastic containers and packaging has been introduced.

There is a list of substances approved for use as base polymers and additives of synthetic resins in direct contact with food. The use of these substances is usually prohibited, and the substances permitted to be used are specified. Only safe substances which are assured can be used.

restaurant inspections2008/8/30 00:50 I am a health inspector in the United States and was doing research on Japan on how they keep there restaurants clean and sanitary. I am interested in what the health inspector's in Japan do and the laws they enforce to keep the public safe. Any info or lead will help. Thanks.by skyspeed

Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare2008/8/31 22:47 A restaurant owner needs a licence that can be obtained by contacting the local "hokenjo (public health center)". The hokenjo is authorized by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

My understanding is that you need to attend some lectures and learn what kind of bacteria to watch out for and how. But I have the impression that more than the licence, what counts is their reputation. With the exception of a few low-down taverns, Japanese customers are quite picky on sanitary issues. If they see a fork being picked up from the floor and placed directly on a table, the restaurant can loose many customers and would be out of business.by Ucorate this post as useful

Many people?2008/8/31 22:51 Where are you getting your information that "many" people in Japan die from O157?

Anyhow, there's certainly been outbreaks of food poisoning in the past but I don't think that has much to do with a restaurant's actual cleanliness and sanitation.by ASUJakerate this post as useful

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