Stricter labeling planned in Tokyo

The Tokyo metropolitan government plans to require cooked frozen food producers in Japan to show countries of origin for main ingredients of products on sale in the nation's capital.

The requirement, under a revised ordinance, will go a step further from the central government's regulation of processed food labeling, according to officials.

The metropolitan government has asked a panel on consumer affairs to study how to improve labels following the food poisoning scare involving frozen gyoza dumplings from China.

The ordinance will likely be revised as early as this summer after the panel makes its recommendations, according to the officials.

The Japanese Agricultural Standard Law requires labels on perishable foods, such as fish, fruits and vegetables, to indicate places of origin. But there has been no such obligation for ingredients of ready-made frozen foods.

The new requirement to be put in place by Tokyo, the country's center of mass consumption, is expected to affect other regions of Japan.

According to Tokyo's plan, domestic producers of cooked frozen foods will be obligated to disclose the countries of origin of the three top ingredients, which each account for 5 percent or more of the total weight of the product.

If some ingredients are from more than one country, all names must be shown.

Wheat and other processed ingredients will be excluded, however, because their countries of origin will have to be traced further back, according to the officials.

In the case of frozen gyoza dumplings, the labeling for the main ingredients would, for example, be: "cabbage (domestic, China); wheat; pork (Canada); leek."

If the product name features "green perilla" as in "green perilla gyoza," then the country of origin for the featured ingredient must also be shown regardless of the ratio of its weight.

The countries of origin must be shown on product packages in principle, but use of websites or phone calls to divulge the information will also be allowed in some cases, they said.

The officials said the revised ordinance will carry no penalties.

But the metropolitan government plans to recommend corrections or announce the companies' names for violations or cases of false labeling, the officials said.

Metropolitan government officials, however, have given up requiring similar labeling for cooked frozen foods produced overseas, such as the Chinese gyoza that sickened 10 people in Japan from December to January.

The officials said it would be beyond the ability of the Tokyo government to confirm the origin of their ingredients.(IHT/Asahi: April 30,2008)