Japanese Food Sanitation Law

Established in 1947, the Japanese Food Sanitation Law, which describes standards and criteria of foods, was the first essential law in Japan on food safety. According to this law, meat, eggs, milk, dairy products, fish, and shellfish should not contain any antibiotic or synthetic antibacterial substances. 

Figure 1. Number of Pesticides Regulated and Official Methods under the Japanese Food Sanitation Law...

The ministry took account of the level of the European Community (370 Bq/kg for milk and infant food and 600 Bq/kg for general food) and that of the USA (10.000 pCi/kg, 370 Bq/kg) and set up the Japanese interim standard level of 370 Bq/kg) If radioactive contamination of imported foods was over the standard level, the foods were requested to be reshipped as products in violation of the Food Sanitation Law of Japan. Although the level was reviewed afterwards, the level was still suitable for products imported from European countries, even after amendment of the law of Japan in which the annual whole body dose limit of 500 mrem was altered to 100 mrem (=1 mSv) in 1988 (on the basis of the recommendation of ICRP Publ. 26, in 1985), because the real foods imported from European countries were estimated to account for 5% of all imported foods which were 35% of all food intake in Japan. 

Although there is considerable discrepancy between the regulations of the other countries and the Japanese standards, the regulations of Japan reflect the historical background of provisions of the original Food Sanitation Law and it will take time to get harmonisation to international guidelines. 

In Japan, the Positive List system was implemented on May 29, 2006. The Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare had established many provisional maximum residue limits (MRLs) in addition to present MRLs, and 586 pesticides were regulated under the Food Sanitation Law [1]. A uniform level of 0.01 ppm is established as the level having no potential to cause damage to human health [2], A rapid and sensitive multiresidue analytical method was required to conduct efficient and effective monitoring surveys of pesticide residues to ensure food safety. 

Japanese Office of Imported Food Safety (2006) Article 26. Implementation of inspection orders based on Section 3 of the Food Sanitation Law. Pharmaceutical and Food Safety Bureau, Department of Food Safety, Inspection and Safety Division (Notice 0331001 http //www.mhlw.go.jP/english/topics/importedfoods/dl/7.pdf). 

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