Trans fatty acids (TFA) containing fats and oils are known to increase biomarkers of chronic disease risk, especially for cardiovascular disease, and impair essential fatty acid metabolism. Therefore in countries such as the United States, total TFA had be declared on the nutrition label. In other countries such as Denmark, Switzerland and Austria are restricting use of fats and oils containing TFA. In Japan, The Food Safety Commission of Japan have expressed that intake of TFA in population of Japan is lower than the standard level recommended by WHO. Therefore, health effects of TFA in population in Japan, as far as they follow a normal diet, are considered to be little. With this statement, Japanese interests about the TFA have been diminished. But TFA issue has not been resolved. The aim of the present report is to provide a summary of the current of TFA.

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A sustainable agricultural production system is urgently required to increase food production in the face of increasing serious food shortages with rising population levels. Plant factory is a food production system that produces high-quality vegetables throughout the year by artificially controlling the environment. Many countries are becoming increasingly interested in the use of plant factory because the production system has many advantages over traditional field-based agriculture. The Research Center for Advanced Plant Factory (SU-PLAF) was set up at the Ueda campus of Shinshu University, Japan, to promote the research and development of the basic technologies used in plant factories. The main projects promoted at SU-PLAF are the development of an energy-saving container plant factory equipped with sunlight collection and light guiding devices and a year-round production system for wasabi nursery plants. It is expected that a steady supply of seedlings will provide an important service for enhancing wasabi production in Japan. SU-PLAF also promotes the collaboration with many companies and provides support for human resources development.

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