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Report
No.231106 |
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- Food Marketing and Distribution - |
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MAFF Sets Country of Origin Labeling Guidelines for Soybeans on Tofu and Natto The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) fixed guidelines for labeling the country of origin of soybeans used for making tofu [bean card] and natto [fermented soybeans] on June 27. Soybeans grown in the country should be labeled as either 'domestic products' or 'grown in Japan' while beans grown on foreign lands should be labeled with the name of the country. The country of origin labeling is to be practiced by manufacturers on voluntary basis. The labeling guidelines are meant to encourage food manufacturers to supply appropriate information to consumers on the one hand, and will also be helpful in grasping consumer needs on the other hand. In this sense, expectations are not small from the view point of developing production of domestic soybeans. That means that growing areas are expected to play their role by producing and supplying on steady basis the varieties and quality of beans asked for by business demands. Domestically manufactured soybean products will be the subject of the guidelines. In the case of domestically grown beans, label can refer to local or regional names such as 'Soybeans grown in Tokachi' rather than name of the prefecture. An emphatic label such as to say 'Made from domestic soybean' , for example, can now be used restrictively only in cases 100% of the beans used represents domestic beans, beans grown in a given prefecture or beans grown under specific cultivation contracts as the case may be. This compares with the hitherto practice under which one could put 'made from domestic beans' label if beans were not 100% domestic origin in so far as percentage by weight is labeled. Because beans from plural number of growing areas are used in mix or in turn in making Tofu and Natto and also because manufacturers are predominantly small business, they have been kept out of the list of processed food products which are subject to compulsory labeling of the area of origin. In the meantime, studies will continue to see an advisability of making them compulsory in two year time. |
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