2020 Volume 78 Issue Supplement Pages S91-S100
Objective: To review the regulatory system for nutrition labeling, especially for nutrient declaration, in Japan, and to highlight the contributions made by the National Institute of Health and Nutrition (NIHN) with regard to the reliability of nutrition labeling of food in recent years.
Methods: We investigated the laws and official documents related to nutrition labeling of food in Japan, as well as relevant academic papers published by the NIHN from 1996 to 2020.
Results: In Japan, under the Food Labeling Act, nutrient declaration of the five nutritional components, namely energy, protein, fat, carbohydrates, and salt equivalent, has been mandatory for all prepackaged processed foods since 2015. Declared nutritional values should be consistent with the values obtained by laboratory analysis in principle, but "the value obtained by reasonable estimate" is permitted under certain conditions. Laboratory analysis is indispensable for verifying the accuracy of label values of foods with nutrient content or health claims. The NIHN has contributed to the regulatory system of nutrition labeling from the following three standpoints: 1) legal inspection body for the Foods for Special Dietary Uses, including the Foods for Special Health Uses, (approval testing) and other prepackaged foods bearing nutrient declaration (compliance testing); 2) proficiency testing provision for organizations performing food nutrition analysis; and 3) research institute to develop and improve analytical methods for nutritional and functional components in foods.
Conclusions: The NIHN has played pivotal roles in ensuring the reliability of nutrition labeling for more than half a century and will continue to do so in the future.
