The Japanese government has proposed new rules requiring country-of-origin labelling for all processed food on sale in the country.
A spokesman for Japan’s consumer affairs agency said the new rules have been partly inspired by concerns over food safety once the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade agreement goes into effect. It will ease tariffs and controls, promoting food imports into Japan.
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“Information about raw materials and place of origin for processed foods is not adequately provided under the current labelling rules,” a spokesman for the agency told just-food. “Labelling information helps consumers when they select food and consumers expect to have as accurate and comprehensible information on the origin of ingredients as possible.”
The official said the new rules would insist labels identify the origin country of a food product’s primary ingredient, while products in which the main ingredient comes from more than one country will bear labels stating “imported”. When imported ingredients have been mixed with domestic components, the label will read “imported or domestically produced”.
The government set up an advisory panel on food labelling in January which has helped draft the proposals, although some food producers are opposed to the revisions saying they will increase costs.
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