Consumers Union of Japan – Page 50 – Sound and Healthy Future for Our Children

Food Additives: MSG, Flavour Enhancers Not Properly Labelled In Japan

Comparing food labels used in Japan and in other countries reveals that many ingredients are not properly listed by Japanese food companies. Here, we take a look at flavour enhancers and food oils.

Processed foods often contain a type of chemicals known as “flavour enhancers” that are not explained on Japanese food labels. In Europe, they are listed as E621 (Monosodium glutamate) and so on. We looked at South Korean food labels and found that they list each chemical separately, just like in Europe, while they are all listed under one simple term in Japan. This term just means “amino acid etc” or “amino acid group” and also another term is used that means “yeast extract” which is very confusing for consumers.

In a type of sauce called Hondashi made by Ajinomoto Co., which is flavoured by katsuo (Shipjack tuna) according to the Japanese label, the South Korean label has much more detailed information. In Korean, it lists the following additives and flavour enhancers (European food additive number in brackets):

Monosodium L-Glutamate (E621)
Disodium 5′-Ribonucleotides (E635)
Succinic Acid (E363) or possibly Sodium Succinate

A sesame dressing made by Mizkan Co. is also better labelled in South Korea, where the list of ingredients includes both E621 and E635, as well as several other food additives, like Tamarind gum and Xanthan gum, that are not listed on the Japanese label. Also, the Korean label clearly indicates that the amount of sesame in the dressing is 9%, with “natural sesame flavour” only 0.1% of the total!

A yakitori sauce made by Moranbong Co. was labelled very differently in South Korean compared to Japan. For example, the Korean label tells consumers that the product contains MSG (E 621) and other additives.

Even chocolate products are labelled in different ways: Lotte Co. makes a type of almond chocolate in its Urawa factory in Chiba, that is sold both in Japan and in South Korea. But in South Korea, the label clearly tells consumers that 25% of the product is almonds. The Korean label also lists each food oil that is used (Palm oil, Canola oil, Sunflower oil) while the Japanese label only lists “vegetable oil” without any details. As most people know, cheap chocolate contains a lot of lecithin. In Korean, Soy lecithin (E322) is clearly listed. In addition, the Korean label reveals that Shellack (E904), a glazing agent, is used, probably to coat the almonds, as well as Vanilla flavouring, which is not specified on the Japanese list of ingredients.

As these examples show, food labels in Japan are not as consumer friendly as in other countries, and identical products from the same food company are much better labelled abroad.

(Image courtesy of Seikatsu Club that provided the data)

By fridfrid | 18/04/2012 | Food, Food Additives |

Japan Resources No 155

CUJ JR 155 (pdf) Japan Resources No 155

Thank you for visiting the English web site of Consumers Union of Japan. We have recently renewed our Japanese web site to better reflect all our campaigns both domestically and internationally.

Consumers Union of Japan (NPO Nihon Shohisha Renmei)

Spring is just around the corner, but there is still a cold wind here in Nishi-Waseda. We remember the victims of the disaster on March 11, 2011 – already one year ago – who still live under very difficult circumstances, with much concern about the future for the Tohoku region.

Feel free to download the pdf file of Japan Resources No 155 and print it for your library.

– Editors

Contents:
No Consumption Tax Raise Without Real Reform
Food Additives: You Think You Know But Really You Don’t
Safety Standards or Double Standard?
Lecture Series: Consumers’ Perspective on the TPP Problem
Consumers Protest Against the Radiation Limits for Food
11,500 Participants In Yokohama Want Japan To Change Its Thinking About Nuclear Power

By fridfrid | 21/03/2012 | Japan Resources |

No Consumption Tax Raise Without Real Reform

The Cabinet decided on February 17, 2012 that the consumption tax will be raised according to the principles that the government and opposition parties drafted in January. The aim is to reform the nation’s finances for the social security system. CUJ submitted the following letter to Prime Minister Noda on February 16, demanding a number of improvements to the proposal.

To:
Prime Minister Noda Yoshihiko
February 16, 2012

Please reexamine the increase of the consumption tax rate

CUJ strongly requests that the government’s policy of “first raising the consumption tax” should be fundamentally reexamined.

According to the proposed reform bill, the consumption tax will gradually be raised to 8% From April 4, 2014 and to 10% from October 1, 2015. The aim is to ensure a stable source of income for the social security system and at the same time achieve healthier public finances.

The plan is to obtain people’s understanding by regarding the raise of the consumption tax as a tax that is earmarked for social security. The four main areas of expenditures are the costs for the pension system, health care & medical treatment, social security, and the decrease in the birthrate. Although this may be carried out, we suspect that the true aim of the raising of the consumption tax rate is to use the funds as a stopgap measure to deal with the huge budget deficit. (more…)

By fridfrid | 07/03/2012 | Civil Rights, Miscellaneous |

Food Additives: You Think You Know But Really You Don’t

CUJ and other groups held a joint seminar about food additives at Shufuren in Tokyo on February 28, 2012. Invited speaker Nakamura Mikio made a detailed presentation about the problems, with a focus on recent developments.

Japan has recently been forced to permit some 70 new food additives that are used in the US and Europe, or face the usual trade related wrath of food exporting countries. That means 423 food additives are now allowed in Japan as of December 27, 2011. Some 350 food additives have been used for a long time, with very few ones approved since the late 1960s.

Nakamura Mikio revealed that over 3 million tons of food additives are now used annually in Japan. That means each Japanese consumer on average eats about 25 kilograms of food additives each year.

The largest share is artificial flavouring and synthetic seasoning products, that amount to over 2.5 million tons. This includes the controversial class of additives that are loosely labelled as アミノ酸など (amino acids etc.) in Japan. 107,000 tons of synthetic preservatives are used while colouring products add up to about 23,000 tons.

Azo colours, for example, were approved in December 1970, and were among the first products that Consumers Union of Japan campaigned against back in the 1970s!

What most people don’t realize is that over the past five years, a number of genetically modified food additives are permitted. They often fall under the “amino acids etc.” labelling requirement, thus consumers cannot easily avoid them. These include Amylase, Chymosin, and Riboflavin (Vitamin B2). Aspartame, the controversial artificial sweetener, is also made with biotechnology, and L-phenylanaline, L-glutamine, and other additives as well, with no labelling requirements. Here is information in English about food additives and GM microorganisms.

Nakamura Mikio noted that Japan no longer produces even one kilo of vitamins – all of it is imported. For example, China now produces 80-85% of the world supply of Vitamin C. He wondered if it really is OK that Japan does not have a single factory that can make such an important product.

The process to approve new food additives includes a way for consumers and the general public to send in comments. We encourage everyone to participate in this work. Consumers Union of Japan is also working for better food labelling to make sure that consumers can choose. We have a right to know what we are eating!

By Martin J. Frid, CUJ

By fridfrid | 01/03/2012 | Biotechnology, Food, Food Additives, Trade |

Safety Standard Or Double Standard?

Consumers Union of Japan held a seminar about radioactivity and food safety at Meiji University in Tokyo on January 29, 2012.

By Emilie De Montessus (CUJ Intern from Lyon University)

Furitsu Katsumi, Hyogo College of Medicine, spoke about the lessons learnt from Chernobyl. Since the Chernobyl accident in 1986, in Belarus, as well as in the outskirts of the area, measures for food safety has been taken, and there is a lot of experience with the aim to protect consumers. What are the conclusions of these experiences?

Dr. Furitsu called the current approach to safety standards a double standard and expressed her concern about the ICRP radiation protection standards. Learning from the consequences in Chernobyl, it is important for consumers in Japan to measure the radioactivity in foodstuffs. The situation is very worrying notably about consumers’ health, especially for young children, who are 3 times as sensitive compared to adults. For example, after the Chernobyl accident the rate of thyroid cancer increased considerably, especially among children.

After the Fukushima accident, the consequences on foodstuffs are numerous. There is a sense of crisis in the agricultural industry, for example regarding tea plants from Shizuoka, that are not possible to export. The importance of measuring the rate of radiocativity was emphasized during the conference. It was also noted that if we wash food stuffs twice, before eating them, the rate of radioactivity is reduced.

Consumers Union of Japan is denouncing the lack of openness concerning the rate of radioactivity in Fukushima prefecture and the surrounding areas, and also, the slowness of reaction from the government. Even almost one year after the Fukushima accident, most of the evacuated inhabitants cannot return to their homes, while farmers and consumer co-operatives have not yet received compensation from TEPCO.

(Photo: Gabor Tiroler, Miljomagasinet.se)

By fridfrid | 15/02/2012 | Civil Rights, Corporate Responsibility, Food, Nuclear |