In recent years, due to reports of food poisoning, the potential relationship between BSE and nvCJD, and other problems that may cause adverse health effects on humans, consumer concerns about food safety have been increasing in many countries in the world, including Japan. This paper explains the concept of food safety and the framework of risk analysis related to food safety on the basis of relevant recommendations made by the Codex Alimentarius Commission.

View full abstract

Recently, we have experienced large-scale accidents and events concerned with food safety. Through these experiences it became clear that there were some problems in the food safety administration and the food system of our country. This paper explains the role which Japanese law and administrative organization concerned with food safety play in order to reduce damage to consumer health. The following problem is pointed out in order to build “a system for ensuring food safety from the farm to the table”:
1) A consistent principle by which to coordinate food safety administration is needed. A big gap exists between the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries and the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare.
2) From agriculture production to consumption, a consistent law is needed. Though many such laws exist, because of the gap that exists between these laws, a satisfactory effect is not achieved by them.
3) We must introduce the guidelines of “risk analysis” to the food safety administration and food system.
To solve the above problems, we must ensure the actual effecting of the “Food Safety Basic Law” and “Food Safety Committee recommendations”, which are now under government review.
To cope with these realistic problems, the food safety researcher is also being asked for the following changes in recognition.
1) We should think that the reduction of risk to consumer health reduces the risk to producer management.
2) We should demonstrate the logic of the social regulation of food safety.
3) We should present the means of concrete regulation, and introduce a new theoretical outline called “cost-effect analysis of health risk reduction” in place of “cost-benefit analysis”.
4) We may be able to provide data for risk assessment. Fixed quantity data or qualitative information about food consumption, production and circulation are being looked for.

View full abstract

Numerous health crises threatening public health in Japan have occurred, such as the outbreak of new types of large-scale food poisoning caused by entero-hemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 and criminal cases involving poisonous and deleterious substances. The biggest food poisoning case was the Mass Outbreak of Diarrhea in School Children of Sakai City in July 1997. From the data gathered by the task force, the total number of people infected by E. coli O157:H7 who received medical attention was 12, 680, and that of those who were symptomatic was 14, 153. The Ministry of Health and Welfare has decided to take measures to cope with the health damage caused by infectious diseases, food poisoning, and drinking water by taking prompt and appropriate measures for health risk management. The Public Health Center Law was revised and in 1994 the Community Health Law became the fundamental law for the public health system and policies in Japan. Public health centers have been responsible for many notable achievements including food sanitation, infectious disease control and improved environmental sanitation. But instead of merely extolling its past successes, the role of public health centers needed to be discussed more precisely. Measures against infectious diseases based upon the Communicable Disease Prevention Law of 1897 were completely revised and the new law was enacted in 1998. It is now faced with the problem of how to construct a new public health system for protecting the health of the nation including food hygiene.

View full abstract

Scientific knowledge of the safety of BSE-affected cattle was reviewed indicating the relative concentrations of pathogenic prion in various tissues such as the brain, spinal cord, ileum, eye and ganglion. Up-to-date studies on the safety of beef, fat, milk and gelatin were also reviewed clarifying safe and risky materials.
The following inspections are considered necessary to prevent the contamination of safe foods by specified risk materials (SRMs) of affected animals:
1) Evaluation of the methods used for the removal of spinal cord.
2) Decontamination methods of knives, saws, containers, etc.
3) Safe separation of SRMs from consumable materials.
4) Removal methods of backbone and other bones.
5) Safe disposal methods of BSE-positive animals.
6) HACCP data at the meat-processing plants, etc.

View full abstract