Provisional Translation
| OTO No. | 349 | Classification | MAFF-65 MHW-179 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of Acceptance | February 1, 1988 | Ministry/Agency Receiving Complaint | Economic Planning Agency |
| Responsible Ministries | Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry of Health and Welfare |
Related Laws | Food Control Law Food Sanitation Law |
| Complainant | Japan Trade Association (proxy complaint) | Exporting Countries | USA |
| Subject | 1. Abolition of the requirement for trading approval for the import of starch to be sold to a non-governmental buyer. 2. Request for a raise in the permissible limit on sulfur dioxide in starch. |
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| Details of Measures | 1. It was replied as follows: Starch is a staple food in the point of substituting for rice or wheat which are central source of dietary starch. For this reason, the Food Control Law requires that all imported starch be to be sold the government in order to prevent disorderly marketing. However, it is possible to allow imported starch to be sold to the private sector in specific case in which the imported starch is sold to stable buyers and there is every assurance that it will be incorporated into the food supply system at a just price. Thus, the eliminate of this requirement for approval for private-sector sale would disrupt not only the orderly domestic market for starch itself but also the entire orderly marketing system for rice and wheat, and would hence be make it difficult to implement the intention of the Food Control Law. 2. It was replied that the maximum residual level of sulfur dioxide for edible starch is 30ppm, and the revision of the usage standard of food additive would require investigation and deliberation by the Food Sanitation Investigation Council, and that this investigation and deliberation would in turn conducted based on international submitted on the additive's effectiveness, necessity and safety. |
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| Classification of Processing | 1. D 2. D |
Directions | 1. III 2. I-a |
| Remarks | |||