Japan on Traceabilty

[Murgen]

MAFF to Establish New JAS Standard for Beef, Also Applicable to Imports



On September 16, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) revealed that, by December 1, it plans to draw up a new JAS (Japanese Standard of Agricultural and Forestry Products) standard with a view to assuring the traceability of the production history of beef, whether domestically produced or imported. The establishment of the new standard is timed to coincide with the date of enforcement of the new Beef Traceability Law (which requires the establishment of systems allowing the production and distribution history of a product to be traced). In addition to date of birth, date slaughtered and other information whose disclosure is required under the Beef Traceability Law, approval under the new JAS standard will be conditional on the disclosure of information relating to feeds and pharmaceuticals.



Also on September 16, the Research Committee for the Japanese Standard of Agricultural and Forestry Products, which is responsible for discussing the establishment and modification of JAS standards, held a general meeting, which approved the establishment of a new "JAS standard on production information disclosed beef". On receiving notification of the results of the meeting, MAFF announced that it plans to publish details of the new standard by November 1.



The proposal is that the new JAS standard should require disclosure of a total of ten items of information, to include information on feeds and pharmaceuticals given to the animal as well as the eight items whose disclosure is compulsory under the Beef Traceability Law (date of birth, sex, name and address of owner, etc.). Beef that satisfies these disclosure requirements will be certified as joho kohyo gyuniku ["production information disclosed beef"].



For imported beef (which is not covered by the provisions of the Beef Traceability Law) to be approved under the new JAS standard, disclosure of the same ten items as for domestically produced beef will be required. However, because certification under the JAS system is purely voluntary, it is likely that only importers who wish to give their product added value by disclosing its production history will make use of the new JAS standard.

 

[Anonymous]

The proposal is that the new JAS standard should require disclosure of a total of ten items of information, to include information on feeds and pharmaceuticals given to the animal as well as the eight items whose disclosure is compulsory under the Beef Traceability Law (date of birth, sex, name and address of owner, etc.). Beef that satisfies these disclosure requirements will be certified as joho kohyo gyuniku ["production information disclosed beef"].

What is the date of that Murgen? Feeders feeding for the Japanese market have been getting all that info for the cattle in signed affidavit form for the last 5+ years.....

 

[Murgen]

I believe it's a little older, I was posting it for anybody that did not know what importance the Japanese put on traceabilty.

 

[Murgen]

Here's another from the same newsletter OT. I wonder if it's the testing the Japanese consumer wants, or to force the US to keep track of where the individual animals come from.

I can picture it now, Japanese consumer scans a package of meat, and voila, up pops OT's brand.

Display of Ear Tag Numbers on Beef Products to be Compulsory from December



On June 14, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) announced that it has decided that the requirement to display ear tag numbers on beef products under the new Beef Traceability Law should apply only to cuts, and should be waived for ground meat, scraps, pre-cooked dishes and other processed foods. It has also decided that the requirement to display ear tag numbers should apply to four types of specialist restaurant, including yakiniku [Korean-style barbecue] houses. MAFF believes these measures will cover approximately 70% of domestic beef.



MAFF also revealed the dates from which the requirements for ear tagging, etc. are to be imposed. The requirements on livestock farmers to fit cattle with ear tags and declare the date of birth of animals, etc. will apply from December 1, 2003, while the requirement on distributors and retailers to display ear tag numbers on beef products will apply from December 1, 2004.



Some 55% of domestic beef is sold in the form of cuts. MAFF estimates that around 15% is used by the four types of specialist restaurant subject to the ear tag number display requirement.