Tokyo Food Safety Information Center » Good things to know » Genetically modified foods » Systems concerning genetically modified foods
Systems concerning genetically modified foods
1. Safety inspection
The development and commercialization of genetically modified foods has expanded rapidly in recent years both in Japan and around the world, and it is anticipated that new foods will continue to be developed in the future.
Accordingly, the standards in the Food Sanitation Act have been revised and safety inspections are now a legal requirement in order to prevent the distribution of foods which have not undergone inspection concerning their safety.
As such, since April 1, 2001, the importation and sale of genetically modified foods which have not undergone safety inspection are prohibited by law.
Safety inspection procedure
Note: Foods which have not been announced via this process may not be distributed in Japan (importation and sale is legally prohibited).
Primary items checked as part of safety inspections
The following items are checked as part of safety inspections based on a comparison of the safety of genetically modified foods versus existing foods (substantial equivalence).
- Is the organism prior to genetic modification and are the genes inserted well understood? Is there any case they were eaten before?
- Are any new proteins created due to genetic modification harmful to humans? Do they cause any allergies?
- Do any unexpected changes in the organism occur due to genetic modification?
- How do the inserted genes work?
- Are there any significant changes in the nutrient content, etc., of the food?
Changes in nutrient content such as high-oleic acid soybeans are excluded.
| Note 1: | In the event that the safety of a GMO cannot be determined in spite of the data gathered above, toxicity testing and other tests using live animals may be conducted as necessary. |
| Note 2: | In addition, re-evaluations may be conducted in the event if a new scientific consensus emerges. |
2 Labeling system
As a general rule, genetically modified foods are required to be labeled.
Labeling system
When the product contains genetically modified products or foods
Labeling required: “Genetically modified, “genetically modified organisms separated,” etc.
When it cannot be verified whether the product contains genetically modified foods or not
Labeling required: “Genetically modified organisms not separated,” etc.
When it can be verified the product does not contain genetically modified foods
Labeling optional: “no genetically modified organisms,” “non-genetically modified foods separated,” etc.
IP handling
How is it verified that a food is not genetically modified or does not contain genetically modified foods? The distribution control method used to objectively verify these matters is called IP handling.
IP handling involves the separate management of genetically modified agricultural products and non-genetically modified agricultural products at each stage of farming, distribution, and production to prevent their mixing. At each stage, documents proving the nature of their management are created, making it clear that each product was separately managed.
Labeling requirements
As shown in the table below, 8 agricultural products and 33 processed foods are required to be labeled as genetically modified foods or not.
However, labeling is not required when the inserted genes and relevant proteins made from the inserted genes are destroyed in the production process of food oil, soy sauce and etc., and can no longer be detected in practice.
In addition, labelling may be omitted in the event genetically modified ingredients are not within the top three ingredients and comprise no more than 5% of the ingredients used to make a processed food.
| No. | Agricultural product |
|---|---|
| 1 | Soybean (including green soybean and soybean sprout) |
| 2 | Corn |
| 3 | Potato |
| 4 | Oil-seed rape |
| 5 | Cotton seed |
| 6 | Alfalfa |
| 7 | Sugar beet |
| 8 | Papaya |
| No. | Processed foods |
|---|---|
| 1 | Bean curd, deep-fried bean curd, and similar products |
| 2 | Frozen bean curd, bean curd waste, and dried bean curd |
| 3 | Natto |
| 4 | Soybean milk and similar products |
| 5 | Soybean paste |
| 6 | Boiled soybean |
| 7 | Canned soybean and bottled soybean |
| 8 | Toasted soybean flour |
| 9 | Roasted soybean |
| 10 | Products using any material listed in (1) to (9) above as a main ingredient |
| 11 | Products using soybean (for cooking) as a main ingredient |
| 12 | Products using soybean powder as a main ingredient |
| 13 | Products using soybean protein as a main ingredient |
| 14 | Products using green soybean as a main ingredient |
| 15 | Products using soybean sprout as a main ingredient |
| 16 | Corn snack and cake |
| 17 | Corn starch |
| 18 | Popcorn |
| 19 | Frozen corn |
| 20 | Canned corn and bottled corn |
| 21 | Products using corn flower as a main ingredient |
| 22 | Products using corn grits as a main ingredient (excluding corn flake) |
| 23 | Products using corn (for cooking) as a main ingredient |
| 24 | Products using any material listed in (16) to (20) as a main ingredient |
| 25 | Frozen potato |
| 26 | Dried potato |
| 27 | Potato starch powder |
| 28 | Potato snack and cake |
| 29 | Products using any material listed in (25) to (28) as a main ingredient |
| 30 | Products using potato (for cooking) as a main ingredient |
| 31 | Products using alfalfa as a main ingredient |
| 32 | Products using sugar beet (for cooking) as a main ingredient |
| 33 | Product using papaya as a main ingredient |