A multiplicity of issues surrounding food

Given the recent string of food-related incidents occurring in Japan, including contamination by foreign matter, mislabeling of production origin, residual agricultural chemical problems, and poisoning of frozen foods with agricultural chemicals, the issue of food safety and reliability has come under unprecedented scrutiny. Nevertheless, Japan has no choice but to import agricultural, livestock, and fisheries products from overseas to provide a stable supply of food. Therefore, a strict control system is essential to prevent contamination by agricultural chemicals and foreign matter, to enable traceability in order to identify problems if they arise and uncover their causes, and to ensure accountability.

Joint inspection with stakeholders

Prompted by a problem with residual agricultural chemicals on frozen spinach in 2002, Ajinomoto Frozen Foods Co., Inc. (FFA), established a thorough control system with stricter standards for its vegetable materials. When procuring fresh ingredients, FFA promotes procurement from specified farms for pork, chicken, and vegetables and specified aquaculture ponds for shrimp. It is also enhancing the management of its farms that grow vegetables, mushrooms, and other raw materials. Furthermore, FFA thoroughly checks and manages every production process for its frozen foods, from raw material procurement through processing to commercialization.

Stakeholders who participated in the inspection tour

Yukiko Furuya Board Member and Chair of the Special Committee on Consumer-oriented Management Systems, Nippon Association of Consumer Specialists (NACS)		Kikuko Tatsumi Permanent Director and Chair of the Environmental Committee, Nippon Association of Consumer Specialists (NACS)		Eiko Nakano Producer, Nikkei Restaurant magazine, Nikkei Business Publications, Inc.

Masami Kojima Senior Staff Writer, Living & Domestic News Department, The Mainichi Newspapers		Dr. Naoki Adachi CEO, Response Ability, Inc.

Process of making Shioyude Edamame^*1

Employees in charge of cultivation and controls at the Xinagya Xinlou Farm		Records of cultivation and agricultural chemical usage are recorded in detail in cultivation control reports.		Soybeans are picked carefully by hand during the harvest season.

Accepted soybeans are preprocessed through air separation and washing.		Each lot is individually subjected to primary sorting through vibration separation and visual sorting by teams of six people.		Quality inspections are conducted on one in 20 baskets. Only items that pass inspection move on to thermal processing, bulk packaging, and frozen storage.

The bulk product removed from storage is thawed, inspected, and soaked in salt water to add flavor.		The soybeans are blanched, cooled, and quickly frozen.		The frozen soybeans are stored temporarily and lot numbers are labeled on each package.

During the packaging process, each bag is individually checked to make sure it is free of foreign matter.		After a visual inspection, a quality inspection is conducted to weigh and package the product.		After being sealed, packages go through an X-ray metal detector and are then boxed and shipped.