| OTO No. | 624 | Classification | MHW-259 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of Acceptance | November 1, 2000 | Ministry/Agency Receiving Complaint | Cabinet Office (Economic Planning Agency) | |
| Responsible Ministries | Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (Ministry of Health and Welfare) | Related Laws | Food Sanitation Law | |
| Complainant | Kobe Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Proxy complaint) | Exporting Countries | |
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| Subject | Review of sterilization methods for spices | |||
| Description of Complaint |
According to "Standards for Manufacturing, Processing and Cooking of Foods in General" in "Specifications and Standards for Food and Food Additives, etc." (Notification by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare), in principle, foods must not be irradiated with radioactivity during their manufacturing and processing. In exceptional cases, a limited range of methods is allowed for cases such as irradiating potatoes with radioactivity to prevent them from sprouting. However, radioactivity is capable of sterilizing foods, killing insects and delaying sprouting. Irradiation of foods with radioactivity causes a very small temperature rise so that radioactivity can be used for sterilization and insecticidal treatment of fresh foods and spices with little effect on nutrition, taste or aroma. Therefore, radioactivity irradiation has been widely used in many countries for sterilization of spices, dried vegetables, poultry, beef, etc., insecticidal processing of tropical fruits, sprout prevention of garlic and for other purposes. In terms of the safety, healthiness of radioactivity-irradiated foods has been confirmed by the Joint Expert Committee of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the World Health Organization (WHO). The FAO-WHO CODEX Alimentarius Commission has established standards for radioactivity-irradiated foods and has recommended member countries to accept such standards. Almost 99% of spices distributed in Japan are imports. It is inevitable that they may contain germs and harmful insects in the course of cultivation, harvesting and natural drying in producing countries. A great number of germs live in symbiosis with spices before harvesting. At present, high-pressure steaming processing is used for the sterilization of spices. But this method not only reduces flavor and taste but also cause change in colors, deteriorating the commercial value of spices. Therefore, the complainant requests the approval of radioactive sterilization for spices. |
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| Details of Measures |
The ministry replied as follows: Radioactive irradiation of foods is banned in principle under the food specifications and standards based on the Food Sanitation Law, and should be prudently considered in consideration of consumers' opinions. |
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| Classification of Processing | D | Directions | III I-a |
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| Remarks |
A written reply was made on November 14, 2000. At the 15th OTO Grievance Resolution Committee held on February 16, 2001, the committee members made the following comment: "According to the WTO's SPS agreement, in so far as there exists an international standard, it would be applied accordingly and with priority. In the case a country does not apply the standard, it must establish the rationale of non-application. The ministry's reply is not considered scientific. Moreover, this kind of reply is also not sufficient to convince foreign counterparts. Thus, the ministry should clarify the problems of the moment as well as scientific basis." It was then determined that the ministry would forward a reply to this comment. In this regard, the ministry forwarded its reply as follows: (Abstract of the ministry's reply to the committee member's comments) In principle, food radioactive irradiation is banned under food quality standards based on the Food Sanitation Law. Apart from the complaints forwarded to OTO this time, (omission) documents for formal demand have also been submitted. The ministry is now compiling scientific references on the safety of radioactivity-irradiated foods as well as detection methods. The ministry will prudently consider ways of discussing food radioactive irradiation in the future while scientifically confirming problems in such requests. |
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