Working to Raise the Level of Quality Assurance

Quality management system of the Ajinomoto Group

In its commitment to offering reliable products and making its “social contribution,” the Ajinomoto Group places the highest priority on safety, as stipulated in the Ajinomoto Group Way. The group established the Ajinomoto Group Quality Policies in 2000, and is carrying out its own strict quality assurance from raw material procurement to sales under the Ajinomoto System of Quality Assurance (ASQUA), which covers all of its products and services. ASQUA also encourages proactive quality assurance initiatives while providing a framework for improving products, services, and business activities by quickly responding to customers' opinions and requests. In principle, ASQUA is applied throughout the entire Ajinomoto Group, unless deemed unnecessary due to such issues as conflicts with national or regional laws and regulations, or incompatibility with characteristics of certain products.

Labeling and use of food additives and GMOs

The Ajinomoto Group makes strict checks on the safety and usefulness of food additives and genetically modified organisms (GMOs), and takes a firm stance against irresponsible labeling using these terms. In recent years, the number of processed foods labeled as “Additive XX-free” or “No XX” on the market in Japan has increased. As a manufacturer of food products, Ajinomoto Co., Inc., strives to avoid labeling methods that may give consumers doubts about GMOs and food additives recognized as safe based on government standards and scientific research. The company believes that inviting unnecessary confusion is not beneficial, especially for the consumer.

Food additives

In addition to the enhancement of our dietary lifestyles through better taste, aroma, nutritional content, and storage stability, food additives play an important role in the distribution and effective utilization of food resources. From the time when humans ate only raw and unseasoned food, food additives have evolved as a part of our food culture as we searched for ways to prepare and preserve food for better taste, safety, and convenience. Since food additives today are consumed by millions of people, they are subject to stringent testing to ensure their safety. The Ajinomoto Group is guided by the latest research on safety and other issues in its choice of appropriate food additives for use in product development and manufacturing. Furthermore, Ajinomoto is committed to clear and accurate labeling of food additives on its product packaging, in accordance with standards stipulated in relevant laws.

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs)

GMOs represent an important technology that is expected to play a major role in the alleviation of environmental problems and food shortages, including the reduction of pesticide use in farming by giving crops an inherent resistance to harmful insects. At this time, it is also important to thoroughly check the safety of GMO foods. In order to ensure food safety, stringent evaluation and approval for GMOs is currently being carried out in various countries. In Japan, such safety inspections are performed by the Food Safety Commission of the Cabinet Office and the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare. Labeling standards have been established in order to provide necessary information to consumers, and Ajinomoto Co., Inc. faithfully complies with these standards. The Ajinomoto Group also has its own detection technology in order to prevent inadvertent contamination by ingredients containing unapproved GMOs.

Strengthening global quality control systems to ensure safe products

The ASQUA School
Participants at local subsidiaries in the ASEAN region		Participants at local subsidiaries in China

In response to an incident in January 2008 involving contaminated food produced at the Tianyang Food Plant in China, the Ajinomoto Group strengthened its quality control system for its frozen foods, which consist of significant amounts of processed agricultural, fisheries, and livestock products made outside Japan. Specifically, the system focuses on three areas: (1) enhanced management of raw materials and monitoring of suppliers; (2) stricter process management incorporating food defense (i.e. prevention of international contamination of food or other criminal acts), and; (3) information sharing with consumers.
In July 2008, Ajinomoto Frozen Foods Co., Inc. (FFA) established the Raw Materials Auditing Department to strengthen quality auditing. The department is conducting audits and has added food defense items for suppliers in and outside Japan that handle raw ingredients from China. The 97 companies it audited in fiscal 2008 will carry out improvements based on audit results.
To strengthen inspection procedures for residual agricultural and other chemicals, FFA is working to improve its system that tests for the presence or absence of diverse chemical agents at numerous stages, including the time of harvest, export and after import. FFA also enhanced the details of raw ingredient origins on its packaging and Web site to improve information dissemination.
Each company in the Ajinomoto Group is working to expand initiatives such as the above to other food products. The companies are forming group-wide projects based on the proposals of the Ajinomoto Group Quality Assurance Committee, while strengthening raw material supplier management systems.

Raising the level of quality assurance through employee education

Quality training for senior management

The Ajinomoto Group conducts quality-training activities for all of its employees, from regular workers to senior management.
In March 2009, about 20 senior managers including the president and executive vice president learned about the activities of Bridgestone Corporation and other industry leaders in the area of quality management. In December 2008, approximately 70 group company presidents in Japan and general managers from Ajinomoto Co., Inc. shared information about public trends and business activities that are effective for increasing customer satisfaction. Outside Japan, the Ajinomoto Group held training sessions for local employees in China and ASEAN countries to share its original Ajinomoto System of Quality Assurance (ASQUA). The first session was held in September 2008 with about 20 participants from 10 companies in China. The second session was held in January 2009 with 14 participants from nine companies in Asia. In October 2008, a training session on quality assurance and quality control operations was held in Japan for employees who represent the backbone of quality assurance in Thailand, the Philippines, Brazil, the United States, and France. Looking ahead, all organizations throughout the group will continue conducting quality-training programs.