機能性表示食品の届出等に関するガイドラインについて(その1)

摘要

The Consumer Affairs Agency of Japan announced new guidelines for functional health claims made in foods on March 20th and went into effect on April 1st (2015). This regulation allows manufacturers of functional foods under national food standards, to submit the documentation based on the new guidelines to the Bureau Chief of the Consumer Affairs Agency 60 days prior to the start of the sale. Food-related manufacturers' (as defined by the Food Labeling Law, Article 2, Paragraph 3, No.l (2013 Law No. 70)) that make functional claims on any of their products are responsible for basing such claims on the proven safety record and functional scientific evidence of such fonctional claims. This regulation is based on the Food Labeling Law Article 4, paragraph1and is defined in the Food Label Regulation (2015 Cabinet Office Ordinance No. 10). The key point of this guideline is to guarantee consumers access to functional information backed by precise scientific evidence and important safety information prior to selecting a product. After being based on such a point of view, it is described an overview of the enacted guidelines.