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| 7th Report of Market Access Ombudsman Council (March 18, 2002) |
1. Complainant: Tokyo Chamber of Commerce and Industry
2. Ministry concerned: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare
3. Complaint:
When importing grilled eels from a foreign country, it is necessary to undergo a prescribed food inspection. The inspection is either ordered inspection or self-inspection depending on whether the eel in question is heated or not immediately before it is frozen. In the case of ordered inspection, under the "Concerning implementation of ordered inspection based on Article 15-3 of the Food Sanitation Law" (Notice issued by the head of the Inspection and Safety Division, Food Safety Dept., Pharmaceutical and Food Safety Bureau), the importer is required to submit an ordered inspection application to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare after confirming the number, etc. of the eel brought into a bonded shed and obtain an inspection implementation permit before actually implementing the inspection. It takes 2~3 days, or 4~5 days when a weekend is involved, before implementing a 24-hour inspection. Since there is no difference in substance between the ordered inspection and the conventional integrated self-inspection concerning grilled eel, self-inspection is as effective as ordered inspection. Ordered inspection that wastes time should be abolished and processed eels imported from China should be deleted from the Attachment 1 of the above notice. If it is impossible, please certify the necessity of ordered inspection.
4. Corresponding Policy of the Ministries concerned:
Ordered inspection based on Article 15-3 of the Food Sanitation Law is necessary in order to prevent harm to food sanitation, as there is a high probability of importing goods that may violate the law due to the situation of a producing country. In order to ensure the reliability and impartiality, the inspection is to be carried out by the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare or an inspection agency designated by the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare. The ministry does not accept the results of self-inspection.
The ministry cannot remove Chinese frozen eel grilled with or without sauce from the list of ordered inspection items, as cases of violation of the Food Sanitation Law are reported every year. But, if the government of an exporting country can guarantee safety as a result of sanitary measures implemented, then the ministry may exempt inspection based on an inspection order, upon consultation.
(Reference)
Recent case of violation with regard to Chinese frozen, grilled eel
Violation of element standard: Coliform bacteria detected. Live bacteria exceeding 100,000 per gram
5. Remarks
The complainant accepted this policy.