Along with society

Japan: Resource Recycling System in Frozen Foods

Aiming for Eco-Friendliness, Communicated Naturally and Effortless to Consumers

Ajinomoto Frozen Foods continues to evolve each frozen food product to deliver four unique values to the consumer based on our Purpose of Delivering smiles to faces around the world through moving food experiences : (1) No.1 Deliciousness No.1 (2) Fun, (3) Health & Nutrition, and (4) Eco-Friendliness.

Among these four unique values, eco-friendliness is much easier said than done.

Ajinomoto Frozen Foods conducts workshops for consumers in which the company communicates the need for eco-friendliness. Even participants who understand this concept tend to have a negative perception of eco-friendliness in terms of sacrifice, the need to change lifestyles, and the sheer scale. Ajinomoto Frozen Foods began a search to change this negative impression and to create a No Change & No Stress lifestyle for customers that leads eco-friendliness naturally and effortlessly.

This effort is how the environmental initiative, Sustainable, Just by Choosing , came to be. The initiative consists of three Values: (1) Everyday Lifestyles, (2) An Environmentally Friendly Society, and (3) Tomorrow's Environment. The Ajinomoto Frozen Foods unique targets for environmental scores incorporate not only targets for eco-friendliness, but also scores for improving scores for the impact on customers related to eco-friendliness: Actionable, Ease, and Eco-Friendly Living.

Creating situations to contribute to the environment simply by purchasing products as usual is one effective way to create a No Change & No Stress way for consumers to take part in eco-friendliness. Ajinomoto Frozen Foods. found a means to create a resource recycling system in the production of gyoza. Food residue, including cabbage cores or defectively molded products, is an inevitable part of production. Instead of discarding the waste, the company composts the residue at a local composting plant, providing the material to local producers. These producers use the compost to grow vegetables for GYOZA production, as part of a sustainable system to recycle resources in the community.

At the Kyushu Plant, food residue generated is recycled as feed for a livestock company in Miyazaki Prefecture. The farm composts pig manure, which cabbage and chives growers in Miyazaki Prefecture and other parts of Southern Kyushu use as fertilizer. The cabbages and chives are delivered to the Kyushu Plant and used as raw materials, completing the circle of resource recycling in the region.

The company is expanding this system to the Shikoku, Chubu, and Kanto plants that manufacture GYOZA. In this way, the plants will engage in resource recycling while creating closer cooperation with composting businesses and producers. Ajinomoto Frozen Foods also produced content called Partners Who Support Deliciousness , published on the company's website. The video highlights initiatives and producers, communicating the system of resource recycling to society at large in an easy-to-understand manner.
The company has maintained a 100% resource recovery ratio since 2021, and continues to evolve further from resource recovery to resource recycling.

Collaboration with society at large will be a key factor in expanding the Sustainable, Just by Choosing initiative. Ajinomoto Frozen Foods will continue to update activities across the value chain, including raw materials procurement, energy-savings, CFC-free plant facilities, and reduced environmental impact from logistics.
The company received certification on December 19, 2025, from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries under the Sustainable Development of the Food Industry plan certification system of the Food Systems Act^[1] for four business activity plans: (1) Business activity to establish stable transactional relationships (based on a resource recycling system); (2) Business activity to rationalize distribution; (3) Business activity to reduce environmental impact; and (4) Business activity to support consumer choice. Ajinomoto Frozen Foods is the only company to receive approval under all four plans (as of May 2026).

The company will continue working in collaboration with stakeholders to achieve a delicious, sustainable future.

1. [1]Act on the Promotion of Business Activities by Food, etc., Business Operators and Ensuring Proper Transactions of Food, etc. for Realizing a Sustainable Supply of Food, etc. Established to achieve a sustainable supply of food throughout the food system with the support of businesses and consumers.

July 2026