広域食品流通とフードセキュリティ上の脆弱性―三笠フーズ社の事故米穀不正規流通を事例として―

抄録

Food security is an urgent issue in contemporary society, and there is a great deal of interest in how safe food supply systems should be constructed. It is necessary to identify the problems with current food supply systems and to plan ways to improve them, in order to upgrade their level of safety and security. The purpose of the present research is to make a contribution in terms of geography by using the case study of the Mikasa Foods scandal, exposed in 2008, which involved improper rice distribution. Three material sources are used to consider the specific circumstances. One is from Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries of Japan (MAFF) statements, and includes a list of the vendors who were regarded as the onward resellers of the tainted rice, while the others are two questionnaires conducted by the author. The first questionnire asked three industry groups ― the sake brewing industry, the liquor retailing industry and the confectionery industry ― about the impact of the incident. The second asked the vendors listed by the MAFF of the impact on them.

(1) From the MAFF data, it appeared that a small amount of tainted rice could move over long distances and diffuse over wide areas through the current complicated food supply system. The industry most affected by this was traditional Japanese sweets. (2) Answers to the industry group questionnaire indicated that even local businesses not on the list experienced declines in sales or had to close down. Traditional Japanese sweets manufacturers were particularly serious cases, as they have more frequent and more direct contact with consumers than do sake brewers. (3) The details of those impacted became clear from the questionnaire directed at vendors who were on the list. In addition to business operation problems, such as declines in sales of over 50％ and it taking over one year for sales to recover to the level prior to the incident, many sufferred reputational damage, libelous claims, a cynical attitude on the part of media companies and inappropriate reactions by the relevant authorities.

Point (1) can be said to be a structural weakness of today’s highly complicated and immense food supply system. Short food supply chains may be effective but it would be difficult for them to replace the current system. Regarding point (2), it is important to disclose information about the actual distribution routes of tainted material to prevent harmful rumors from spreading. However, disclosure of information and harmful rumors are two sides of the same coin and the latter cannot be eradicated. Therefore, in practical terms, clarification of where responsibility lies for the incident, taking remedial action and paying restitution, can be effective in reducing risks to, lightening the burden on related parties, and improving the safety of the food distribution system. In this event, the latter measures may improve food securities, particularly in relation to point (3), it is important to take into consideration vulnerable parties, as represented by traditional Japanse sweets manufacturers, that are on the periphery of food supply systems. It has been found that those with a lack of differentiation of manufacturing and sales, who use a wide variety and low volume of food materials, carry out business on a local scale, and who have a small scale business, get damaged the most.