| OTO No. | 634 | Classification | MHLW-(4) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of Acceptance | February 5, 2001 | Ministry/Agency Receiving Complaint | Cabinet Office | |
| Responsible Ministries | Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare | Related Laws | Food Sanitation Law | |
| Complainant | Belgian Chamber of Commerce in Japan (Proxy complaint) | Exporting Countries | Belgium | |
| Subject | Reduction of the amount of samples taken for monitoring tests | |||
| Description of Complaint | When confectionary is imported, a minimum of 300 grams is taken for each product as samples for monitoring tests under Article 17 of the Food Sanitation Law to check additives. Since the import product in question is Belgian luxury chocolate, the import volume is small. Therefore, the sampling of as much as 300 grams is a great burden on importers. Accordingly, the complainant wants the government to revise the rule of a uniform 300-gram sampling for monitoring tests and to reduce the amount of samples if the import volume is small. If such reduction is difficult, the government should specify scientific grounds for taking 300-gram samples for monitoring tests. | |||
| Details of Measures |
The ministry replied as follows: The ministry has taken the amount required for additive checks and that for GLP (Good Laboratory Practice) into account in setting the amount of samples for monitoring tests to check additives at 300 grams. Since the monitoring tests are designed to confirm that safe food is imported, the ministry implements such tests while taking care to avoid any bias to certain importers, producers or products. |
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| Classification of Processing | D | Directions | II-a | |
| Remarks | A written reply was made on February 14, 2001. | |||