Notice No. 0329 Article 3 of the Office of Import Food Safety
March 29, 2013
To: Head of each quarantine station
From: Head of the Office of Import Food Safety,
Inspection and Safety Division,
Department Food Safety,
Pharmaceutical and Food Safety Bureau
(Seal Omitted)
Implementation of “Imported Foods Monitoring Plan for FY 2013”
We appreciate your efforts to realize and smoothly implement the monitoring inspections on imported foods based on the annexed Imported Foods Monitoring and Guidance Plan for FY 2013.
Separate instructions shall be given on the inspection reinforcement during the current interim FY, which will be conducted when the Food Sanitation Act concerning residual agricultural chemicals, etc. has been violated.
Annex
Imported Foods Monitoring Plan for FY 2013
I. Implementation Guidelines for Monitoring Inspections Concerning Imported Foods (common items)
- 1. Implementation period
From April 1, 2013, to March 31, 2014 - 2. Targets
- (1) Targeted foods
- A. Foods listed in Schedule 1, excluding the foods indicated below.
- (a) Defective items
- (b) Returned shipments
- (c) Foods reported by customs officers as having a food sanitation problem
- (d) Food that are being imported into Japan for the first time
- B. Also targeted are: i) foods with an inspection report issued by an inspection organization registered with the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare, or by an official inspection organization in other country; ii) foods registered on a pre-checking system for imported foods; and iii) the same foods that are continuously imported, with previous inspection reports.
- A. Foods listed in Schedule 1, excluding the foods indicated below.
- (2) Items to be inspected
Regarding the food groups specified in Schedule 1, inspection must be conducted on items specified in ordinances or notifications of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, i.e. additives, toxic and hazardous substances, and pathogenic microorganisms, etc. - (3) Number of specimens
Follow the guidelines in Schedule 1, and develop an annual plan for systematic implementation of the inspections, based on the items and numbers to be inspected for each food type, assigned separately, to each quarantine station by the Office of Quarantine Stations Administration, Policy Planning and Communication Division (hereinafter referred to as the “Administration Office”).
If an inspection is deemed necessary in consideration of the situation with regard to importation or violation of the Food Sanitation Act (hereinafter referred to as “the Act”), and/or information on raw materials, the processing method, etc. contained in the import declarations for items whose import volume has surged compared to an average year or items whose import has been newly approved, an inspection should be implemented at any time, regardless of Schedule 1.
Further, the enhanced monitoring inspections upon the discovery of a violation of the Act concerning residual agricultural chemicals of which the frequency is increased by 30% shall follow Schedule 2, whereas instructions given to manufacturers, processing plants, exporters, and packagers to conduct voluntary inspections whenever they import the relevant items after violating relevant Acts shall follow Schedule 3.
In principle, inspections will be carried out in line with the usual monitoring system after one year has passed from the day enhanced monitoring was enforced and/or after 60 or more enhanced inspections have found that the same violation has not been committed again. Schedule 2 and/or Schedule 3 will be revised when usual monitoring resumes.
- (1) Targeted foods
- 3. Inspection methods
- (1) Collection of specimens
Specimens shall be collected according to Schedule 4 to 6, in line with Article 28 of the Act. The specimens shall be collected from randomly selected inspection targets, under instructions from the food sanitation monitors, so that the specimens will be appropriately representative of the entire lot.
Specimens shall be collected according to the standard operating procedures for specimen handling, and the collection methods, the cargo types of collected products, and indications on them shall be recorded in detail. - (2) Methods of testing
Select an appropriate method from the methods listed below, in consideration of the properties of each food, and perform the inspection accurately and promptly according to the standard operating procedures.- A. Testing methods defined by the Specification and Standards for Foods and Food Additives (Notification No. 370 of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, 1959) (hereinafter referred to as the “notified method”)
- B. Testing methods defined by the Ministerial Ordinance Concerning the Standards for Constituents of Milk and Dairy Products (Ministerial Ordinance No. 52 of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, 1951)
- C. Testing methods defined by the Notices from Directors of Departments in the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare
- D. Testing methods described in “Inspection Guidelines for Food Sanitation”, supervised by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare
- E. Testing methods described in “Standard Methods of Analysis for Hygienic Chemists, Annotation”, edited by the Pharmaceutical Society of Japan
- F. Other reliable testing methods such as the AOAC methods
In addition to the testing methods listed above, testing may be conducted using a method possessing specificity, and also a performance equivalent or superior in terms of accuracy, precision and quantitation limit compared to testing methods indicated in notices, etc.
- (1) Collection of specimens
- 4. Delivery of specimens to testing institutions
Specimens collected by quarantine stations shall be delivered, in storage conditions appropriate for testing, to the individual divisions in charge of inspection, as separately specified by the Administration Office or the trustee agreement signed at the quarantine stations.
Sufficient prior coordination with the representative of the receiving organization shall be carried out, so that the specimens are sent and received appropriately and that the testing of them can be carried out smoothly. - 5. Reporting results
If a violation is found in the monitoring inspection, importers should be provided with instructions to confirm the cargo status, and reports on the violation should be promptly submitted to the Office of Import Food Safety using the form for reporting violations of the Act. - 6. Other precautions
- (1) Sampling of inspection targets
It should be noted that: import declarations should be randomly selected to perform the relevant monitoring inspections; inspections should not be biased towards certain importers or otherwise, nor may inspections be canceled at the request of the importer. - (2) Collection of specimens from bulk cargo
For grains, beans and other products in bulk, take necessary measures including instructing the importers to make declarations prior to the arrival of cargo so that the importation status can be identified in sufficient time.
Also obtain information as to the time and place available for the collection of inspection specimens, and the destination(s) of cargo in the same hold, to develop collection plans promptly, and notify the relevant importers of them. - (3) Inspection on residual agricultural chemicals in processed foods (excluding simple processing)
- A. Half of collected specimens shall be evenly homogenized for inspections as product, and the rest shall be stored without homogenization.
- B. If residual agricultural chemicals are detected as a result of an inspection, the cause of detection shall be confirmed, and the conformity to the Specification and Standards shall be determined upon consideration of the standard value for residuals in raw materials, composition of ingredients, and production and processing method, etc.
- C. In the cases where a cause of detection from the product is unknown or where inspection at product level is difficult, inspection shall be individually carried out on physically separable ingredients.
- (1) Sampling of inspection targets
II. Implementation Guidelines for Monitoring Inspection of Livestock and Aquatic Foods
- 1. Targeted foods
- (1) Livestock and aquatic foods, and their processed products
- A. Meat (including internal organs)
- B. Processed meat products
- C. Cheeses and other milk/dairy products
- D. Honey-related products (honey, royal jelly, pollen, etc.)
- E. Aquatic foods (fish (such as eel, salmon/trout and flounder), aquatic animals (such as prawns, squid and octopus), and shellfish (excluding scallops consisting of adductor muscle only), etc.)
- (2) Items to be inspected and the number of specimens
- A. Antibiotics, etc.
Items subject to inspections are as listed in Schedule 7 and inspections are performed on the items subject to analysis as described in each test method. The number of inspections is as listed in Schedule 1. - B. Residual agricultural chemicals
Items subject to inspections are as listed in Schedule 8 and inspections are performed on the items subject to analysis as described in each test method. The number of inspections is as listed in Schedule 1. - C. Others
- (a) Paralytic Shellfish Poison, Diarrheic Shellfish Poison
Number of Inspections: Bivalves – 299 inspections; Shellfish other than bivalves – 5 inspections - (b) Mercury
Number of Inspections: Fish and shellfish – 299 inspections - (c) PCB
Number of Inspections: Beef – 59 inspections; Pork – 59 inspections; Fish and shellfish – 119 inspections - (d) Pufferfish being mixed
Number of Inspections: Dried thread-sail filefish product – 5 inspections; Sliced anglerfish and/or its internal organs – 5 inspections;
- (a) Paralytic Shellfish Poison, Diarrheic Shellfish Poison
- A. Antibiotics, etc.
- (1) Livestock and aquatic foods, and their processed products
- 2. Inspection methods
- (1) Collection of specimens
- A. Collect the specimens as specified in “Residual hazardous substances in livestock and aquatic foods” in Schedule 4 for antibiotics, etc, residual agricultural chemicals (excluding high grade processed food), mercury, PCB, paralytic shellfish poison, diarrheic shellfish poison and pufferfish being mixed.
- B. In principle, the collected specimens shall be delivered to the testing institution in a frozen state and handled accordingly.
- (2) Methods of testing
Regarding any items to be inspected which are not indicated below, testing shall be carried out according to the notified method or “Testing Methods for Constituent Substances of Residual Agricultural Chemicals, Feedstuff Additives and Veterinary Drugs in Food” in Notice No. 0124001 from the Department of Food Safety, dated January 24, 2005 (hereinafter referred to as “Notice on Testing Methods for Residual Agricultural Chemicals”).- A. Antibiotics
Testing shall be carried out according to “Simple Inspection Methods for Residual Antibiotics in Livestock and Aquatic Foods (Revision)” in Notice Einyu No. 113, dated July 13, 1994. If a specimen tests positive, it must be further examined according to “Fractional Estimation Methods for Residual Antibiotics in Livestock and Aquatic Foods (Revision)” described in the same Notice.
If the specimen tests positive for above methods, the positive substance must be identified and quantified. - B. Residual agricultural chemicals
The testing of processed foods (excluding simple processing) shall be carried out according to "Testing Methods for Residual Organophosphorus Agricultural Chemicals in Food" in the notice dated March 7, 2008. - C. Streptomycin
Honey shall be examined according to Attachment 2 in Annex 2 of the Notice No. 0329005 from the Inspection and Safety Division dated March 29, 2002. - D. Paralytic shellfish poison and diarrhetic shellfish poison
Testing for paralytic shellfish poisons shall be carried out according to “Method of Inspecting for Shellfish Poison” in Notice Kannyu No. 30, dated July 1, 1980, while diarrhetic shellfish poisons shall be tested according to “Method of Inspecting for Diarretic Shellfish Poison” in Notice Kannyu No. 37, dated May 19, 1981. - E. Mercury
Testing for mercury shall be carried out according to Attachments 2 of Notice Kannyu No. 99, dated July 23, 1973. - F. PCB
Testing for PCB shall be carried out according to the method of analysis described in Notice Kanshoku No. 442, dated August 24, 1972. - G. Pufferfish being mixed
Testing for pufferfish shall be carried out according to “Testing method for pufferfish in imported processed fish products,”. (Notice No. 0906, Article 1 of the Office of Imported Food Safety, dated September 6, 2011)
- A. Antibiotics
- (1) Collection of specimens
III. Implementation Guidelines for Monitoring Inspection of Agricultural Foods
- 1. Targeted foods
- (1) Agricultural foods, and their processed products
- A. Vegetables
- B. Fruits
- C. Grains (Incliding Minimum Access imported rice and tariffed rice), beans and nuts
- D. Tea
- (2) Items to be inspected and the number of specimens
- A. Residual agricultural chemicals
Items subject to inspections are as listed in Schedule 8 and inspections shall be performed on the items subject to analysis as described in each test method. The number of inspections is as listed in Schedule 1. - B. Aflatoxin
The number of inspections shall be as listed in Schedule 1. - C. Patulin
Number of Inspections: Apple juice (juice produced only from apples) - 59 inspections; Apple juice as raw material -59 inspections - D. Deoxynivalenol (DON)
Targeting wheat, inspections shall be performed on ships to be separately instructed by the Administration Office. - E. Cadmium and its compounds
Number of Inspections: Rice -119 inspections - F. Lead and arsenic
Number of inspections: Vegetables (limited to potato, tomato, cucumber and spinach) – 119 inspections; Fruits (limited to Citrus natsudaidai, skin of Citrus natsudaidai, apple, Asian pear, peach, strawberry and grapes) – 119 inspections;Lead in Rice –59 inspections
- A. Residual agricultural chemicals
- (1) Agricultural foods, and their processed products
- 2. Inspection methods
- (1) Collection of the specimens
- A. Agricultural chemical residues (excluding rice)
In accordance with the methods detailed in the inspection item “Agricultural Chemicals” in Schedule 4 or in accordance with the bulk cargo method - B. Agricultural chemical residues, aflatoxin and cadmium and its compounds,and lead in rice
In accordance with Schedule 6 - C. Aflatoxin (excluding rice)
In accordance with the methods detailed in Schedule 5 or the bulk cargo method, and “Sampling in Aflatoxin Inspection” (Notice No. 0922, Article 1 of the Office of Imported Food Safety, dated September 22, 2011) - D. Patulin
In accordance with methods (2) or (3) detailed in the inspection item “Patulin” in Schedule 4 - E. DON
In accordance with the methods detailed in the inspection item “DON” in Schedule 4 or in accordance with the bulk cargo method
- A. Agricultural chemical residues (excluding rice)
- (2) Methods of testing
- A. Residual agricultural chemicals
Testing shall be carried out in the solid-phase extraction for the simultaneous analysis method for residual agricultural chemicals, the Notice on Testing Methods for Residual Agricultural Chemicals, or the notified method.
If, upon conducting testing by solid-phase extraction for the simultaneous analysis method for residual agricultural chemicals, the tested value is suspected to exceed the designated residue level, further examine the specimen according to the Notice on Testing Methods for Residual Agricultural Chemicals or to the notified method.
However, the testing of processed foods (excluding simple processing) shall be carried out according to "Testing Methods for Residual Organophosphorus Agricultural Chemicals in Food" in the notice dated March 7, 2008. - B. Aflatoxin
Testing shall be carried out according to the methods described in the “Testing Methods for Total Aflatoxin” (Notice No. 0816, Article 2 of the Food Safety Department, dated August 16, 2011) or other methods equivalent to it. - C. Patulin
Testing shall be carried out according to the Notification method. - D. DON
Testing shall be carried out according to Schedule 2 in the “Setting the Temporary Standard Value for Deoxynivalenol in Wheat” (Notice No. 0521002 from the Food Safety Department, dated May 21, 2002).
- A. Residual agricultural chemicals
- (1) Collection of the specimens
- 3. Other
- (1) Notes on the inspection of rice
- A. In 1.(1) C. above, Minimum Access imported rice refers to that specified in Articles 30 and 31 of the Act on Stabilization of Supply-Demand and Price of Staple Food; tariffed rice refers to that specified in Article 34 of the Act on Stabilization of Supply-Demand and Price of Staple Food which is imported with tax.
- B. Within the same lot (the same variety of rice (such as brown rice, milled rice, crushed rice, non glutinous rice or glutinous rice), the same origin, the same importer and the same ship), inspections shall be conducted at the first port where the cargo is discharged (hereinafter referred to as “the primary port”). To do this, the inspection results of the same lot cargo at the primary port shall be appropriately reported by the quarantine station with jurisdiction over the primary port to the quarantine stations with jurisdiction over the secondary ports.
- C. When fumigation is carried out according to the Plant Protection Act, instructions shall be given to implement voluntary inspections on the used fumigation agents.
- D. Inspections of contamination of foreign matters in food at the time of sampling shall be carried out with consideration to the “Outline of Handling of the Seeds of Convolvuloceous Plants Mixed in with Imported Rice” (Notice No. 81 from Eishoku, dated April 26, 1957)
- E. Result of the inspection, if the lead is detected over 0.2ppm, which is the maximum reference value in the Codex standard, should be instructed to return shipments to the importer.
- (2) Dealing with the results of DON inspections
When the result of a DON inspection exceeds the temporarily set standard value for DON listed in the “Setting the Temporary Standard Value for Deoxynivalenol in Wheat” (Notice No. 0521002 from the Food Safety Department, dated May 21, 2002), instructions shall be given to the importer to take voluntary restriction measures of import, sales, etc., in accordance with item 3 of the said notice.
- (1) Notes on the inspection of rice
IV. Implementation Guidelines for the Monitoring Inspection of Pathogenic Microorganisms
- IV-1 Inspection of Vibrio Parahaemolyticus Related to Fresh Fish and Shellfish to be Eaten Raw
- 1. Implementation period and targets of the inspection
- (1) Food products subject to enhanced inspection
- A. Implementation period
From June 1 to October 31, 2013 - B. Targeted foods
- (a) Foods in which violations concerning Vibrio parahaemolyticus were identified, in the monitoring inspection conducted at the quarantine stations in FY 2012.
- a. Sea urchin from China to be eaten raw
- b. Sea urchin from the Philippines to be eaten raw
- (b) Foods in which violations concerning Vibrio parahaemolyticus were not identified in the monitoring inspection of FY 2012, but in which violations were identified in the inspection of FY 2011.
- a. Ark shells from South Korea to be eaten raw
- b. Tairagi fan shell from South Korea to be eaten raw
- (c) If a legal violation is identified in a food in 1.(2) below, the relevant food of the relevant country in legal violation shall be thereafter handled as "Food products subject to enhanced inspection" of 1.(1) above.
- (a) Foods in which violations concerning Vibrio parahaemolyticus were identified, in the monitoring inspection conducted at the quarantine stations in FY 2012.
- A. Implementation period
- (2) Food products other than those subject to enhanced inspection
- A. Implementation period
From April 1, 2013, to March 31, 2014 - B. Targeted foods
Boiled octopus and crabs (limited to the ones to be eaten without heating); fresh fish and shellfish to be eaten raw; oysters to be eaten raw (limited to shelled ones); and frozen food products (limited to frozen fish and shellfish to be eaten raw); in relation to which the constituent standards for Vibrio parahaemolyticus are established in "Specifications and Standards for Foods and Food Additives" (Notification No. 370, issued by the Ministry of Health and Welfare in 1959).
- A. Implementation period
- (3) Items to be inspected
Vibrio parahaemolyticus - (4) Number of inspections
Inspections shall be carried out for every import declaration for the foods specified as targeted foods in (a) and (c) of 1.(1) B. above during the designated period, and for 30% of all import declarations for the foods specified in (b) of 1.(1) B. above. Outside the designated period, testing for both 1. (1) and (2) shall be carried out within the range of the numbers of specimens for each item, specified in the "Pathogenic Microorganism" for processed seafood in Schedule 1.
- (1) Food products subject to enhanced inspection
- 2. Inspection methods
- (1) Collection of the specimens
Specimens shall be collected according to "Microorganisms" in the inspection items of Schedule 4. - (2) Methods of testing
Testing shall be carried out according to the notified method. Among the testing methods concerning Vibrio parahaemolyticus, the "identification method" and the "inspection method that is recognized to have equivalent or better performance" shall conform to the provision of Notice No. 23 from the Standard and Evaluation Division, dated June 29, 2001.
- (1) Collection of the specimens
- 3. Other
- (1) Sampling of inspection targets
In the collection of specimens of foods specified in 1. (2), be very efficient, especially in summer, mainly for sea urchins to be eaten raw and shellfish with a high risk of contamination, in careful consideration of the food types, the exporting countries, the food-processing facilities, the importers and past inspection records. - (2) Issuance of certificates indicating that the food import declaration has been submitted
The certificates indicating that the food import declaration has been submitted may be issued for all food products that have completed the inspection, before the results of the inspection are obtained. However, attention should be paid to the follow in points in the issuance:- A. With regard to the food products specified in 1. (1), in order to prevent food poisoning from occurring, importers shall be instructed to suspend the sale of those food products to be eaten raw, to retailers and consumers until the inspection results are obtained.
- B. With regard to the food products specified in 1. (2) above, instructions shall be provided to importers in advance that they obtain information on the storage and distribution of the products concerned. The purpose of this measure is to make possible an immediate backward traceability investigation and recall of the relevant products, if it is verified that the products are in violation of the Act.
- (3) Handling of food detected to contain Vibrio parahaemolyticus not exceeding the threshold value.
With regard to fresh fish and shellfish to be eaten raw, oysters to be eaten raw (limited to shelled ones), and frozen food products (limited to frozen fish and shellfish to be eaten raw), if the results of the inspection indicate that the most probable number of Vibrio parahaemolyticus is equal to or less than 100/g but equal to or more than 3.0/g, instructions shall be provided to importers that they strictly observe the preservation standards in the storage and distribution of the products in Japan, in order to prevent Vibrio parahaemolyticus from propagating to cause food poisoning. Importers shall also be instructed that they obtain information with sufficient care, on the distribution and other matters related to the products concerned, in order to make possible an immediate backward traceability investigation of the products if those products cause food poisoning. - (4) Guidance on sanitation control
With reference to "Ensuring the Safety of Imported Shelled Sea Urchins and Ark Shells to be Eaten Raw" in Notice No. 0919007 from the Inspection and Safety Division, dated September 19, 2003, guidance shall be provided to importers to ensure that they strictly oversee the sanitation control, including the observance of the processing standards at processing plants in the exporting countries, the observance of the preservation standards in the transportation and storage of food products, and submission of import declarations for each plant as a separate lot, if the food product is processed at different plants.
- (1) Sampling of inspection targets
- IV-2 Inspection of Pathogenic Microorganisms other than Vibrio Parahaemolyticus Related to Fresh Fish and Shellfish to be Eaten Raw,etc.
- 1. Targeted foods
- (1) Livestock aquatic and agricultural foods, and their processed products
- A. Meat (including internal organs)
- B. Processed meat products
- C. Cheeses and other milk/dairy products
- D. Aquatic foods (fish (such as eel, salmon/trout and flounder), aquatic animals (such as prawns, squid and octopus), and shellfish (excluding scallops consisting of adductor muscle only), etc.)
- E. Vegetables
- F. Fruits
- G. Grains (Including Minimum Access imported rice and tariffed rice), beans and nuts
- (2) Items to be inspected and the number of specimens
- A. Enterohemorrhagic E. coli
Number of Inspections: Beef – 598 inspections; Horse meat – 59 inspections; Uncooked meat products to be consumed without further cooking – 119 inspections; Natural cheese – 598 inspections; Vegetables with skin to be eaten unheated – 598 inspections; Fruits with skin to be eaten unheated – 598 inspections - B. Listeria
Number of Inspections: Unheated meat products to be consumed without further cooking – 299 inspections; Natural cheese – 598 inspections; Other milk/dairy products – 119 inspections - C. Norovirus
Number of Inspections: Bivalves to be eaten raw – 299 inspections; Shellfish other than bivalves to be eaten raw – 59 inspections - D. Hepatitis A Virus
Number of Inspections: Bivalves to be eaten raw – 299 inspections; Shellfish other than bivalves to be eaten raw – 59 inspections; Fruits (limited to those to be eaten unheated) – 59 inspections; Frozen fruits to be eaten unheated (excluding those heated during manufacturing process) – 59 inspections - E. Salmonella
Number of Inspections: Products of chicken/other egg – 29 inspections; Natural cheese – 119 inspections; Frozen products to be eaten unheated (aquatic and agricultural products) – 299 inspections respectively; Fish to be eaten raw – 299 inspections; Ice cream – 59 inspections; Peanuts and nuts (limited to those to be eaten unheated) – 299 inspections - F. Shigella
Number of Inspections: Frozen products to be eaten unheated (aquatic and agricultural products) – 119 inspections respectively; Fish to be eaten raw – 119 inspections - G. Kudoa septempunctata
Number of Inspections: Flounder to be eaten raw other than frozen products – 299 inspections - H. Sarcocystis fayeri
Number of Inspections: Horse meat to be eaten raw (including internal organs) – 59 inspections - I. Staphylococcus aureus
Number of Inspections: Uncooked meat products – 119 inspections; Heated meat products– 119 inspections
- A. Enterohemorrhagic E. coli
- (1) Livestock aquatic and agricultural foods, and their processed products
- 2. Inspection methods
- (1) Collection of specimens
- A. Collect the specimens as specified in "Microorganisms" in Schedule 4.
- B. The collected specimens to be subject to Kudoa septempunctata testing shall be delivered to the testing institution in a frozen state and handled accordingly.
- (2) Methods of testing
- A. Enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli O26, O103, O104, O111 and O157
Testing shall be carried out according to the "Detection Method for Enterohemorrhagic E. coli O26, O111 and O157 from foods" which was annexed in the "Detection Methods for Enterohemorrhagic E.coli O26, O111 and O157" (Notice No. 1217 Article 3, from the Inspection and Safety Division, dated December 17, 2012).
Testing shall be carried out according to the "Detection Method for Enterohemorrhagic E. coli O103" (Notice No. 1218, Article 4, from the Office of Imported Food Safety, dated December 18, 2012).
Testing shall be carried out according to the "Detection Method for Enterohemorrhagic E. coli O104" (Notice No. 1218, Article 5, from the Office of Imported Food Safety, dated December 18, 2012). - B. Listeria monocytogenes
Testing shall be carried out according to "Prevention of Contaminations of Milk and Dairy Products by Listeria" in Notice Einyu No. 169, dated August 2, 1993. - C. Norovirus
Testing shall be carried out according to "Detection Method for Norovirus" (Notice No. 1105001 from the Inspection and Safety Department, dated November 5, 2003). - D. Hepatitis A virus
Testing shall be carried out according to "Detection Method for Hepatitis A Virus" (Notice No. 1201, Article 1, from the Inspection and Safety Division, dated December 1, 2009). - E. Salmonella
Testing shall be carried out according to the methods described in "Testing Methods for Salmonella" (Article 3-1-(3) of Annex 1 of Notice Einyu No. 54, dated March 17, 1993) for fish to be eaten raw and "Standard Methods of Analysis in Food Safety Regulation, Microbiological Section II. Section 2-4 Salmonella (1)" for other foods. - F. Shigella
Testing shall be carried out according to "Testing Methods for Shigella" in the notice dated January 9, 2002. - G. Kudoa septempunctata
Testing shall be carried out according to "Testing Methods for Kudoa septempunctata (preliminary version)" Notice No. 0711 Article 1, from the Inspection and Safety Division, dated July 11, 2011. - H. Sarcocystics fayeri
Testing shall be carried out according to "Testing Methods for Sarcocystics fayeri (preliminary version)" Notice No. 0823 Article 1, from the Inspection and Safety Division, dated August 23, 2011.
- A. Enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli O26, O103, O104, O111 and O157
- (1) Collection of specimens
V. Implementation Guidelines for the Monitoring Inspection of Foods Produced Using Recombinant DNA Techniques
- 1. Targets
- (1) Genetically modified foods whose safety has not been certified
- A. Papaya and its products
- B. Rice and its products
- C. Rapeseed and its products
- D. Wheat
- (2) Items to be inspected and the number of specimens
- A. PRSV-YK and PRSV-SC
Number of inspections: Papaya and its products (Limited to products that can be separated from the others) – 119 inspections - B. 63Bt, NNBt and CpTI rice
Number of inspections: Rice and its products (made mainly of rice and unheated or heated lightly products, such as rice flour and rice vermicelli) – 299 inspections - C. LL601
Number of inspections: Rice excluding long-grain rice produced in U.S.A. and its products (made mainly of rice and unheated products) – 59 inspections - D. RT73 B.rapa
Number of inspections: Rapeseed and its products – 5 inspections - E. MON71800
Targeting Wheat produced in U.S.A., inspections shall be performed on ships to be separately instructed by the Administration Office.
- A. PRSV-YK and PRSV-SC
- (1) Genetically modified foods whose safety has not been certified
- 2. Inspection methods
- (1) Collection of the specimens
Speciments shall be collected according to the “Inspection Methods for Foods Produced Using Unreviewed Recombinant DNA Techniques“ (Notice No.1116, Article 4 of the Food Safety Department, dated November 16, 2012)
However, if testing is to be conducted with other tests such as residual agricultural chemicals, a total of 2kg of specimen shall be collected. - (2) Methods of testing
Testing shall be carried out according to the ” Inspection Methods for Foods Produced Using Unreviewed Recombinant DNA Techniques” (Notice No.1116, Article 4 of the Food Safety Department, dated November 16, 2012)
- (1) Collection of the specimens
- 3. Other
- (1) Notes on the inspection of rice
Take heed of the items in 3. of III of this Notice when inspecting rice.
- (1) Notes on the inspection of rice
VI. Implementation Guidelines for Monitoring Inspection of Irradiated Foods
- 1. Targets
- (1) Livestock products, agricultural products and seafood
Food indicated through “Detection Methods for Irradiated Foods” (Notice No. 0706002 from the Department of Food Safety, dated July 6, 2007, The last revision : Notice No. 0910 Article 2 from the Department of Food Safety, dated on September 10, 2012) - (2) Items to be inspected and number of inspections
Inspection shall be carried out to find evidence of irradiation. The number of inspections shall be as specified in Schedule 1.
- (1) Livestock products, agricultural products and seafood
- 2. Inspection methods
- (1) Collection of specimens
Specimens shall be collected according to the methods listed in the inspection item “Irradiation” of Schedule 4. - (2) Methods of testing
Testing shall be carried out according to the methods specified in the “Detection Methods for Irradiated Foods” (Notice No. 0706002 from the Department of Food Safety, dated July 6, 2007, The last revision : Notice No. 0910 Article 2 from the Department of Food Safety, dated on September 10, 2012).
- (1) Collection of specimens
- 3. Other
- (1) Standard dose of Irradiation
Standard irradiation for specimens shall be entrusted to the following organization:
Nuclear Fuel Industries, Ltd. Kumatori Works
1-950 Asashiro-Nishi, Kumatori-cho, Sennan-gun, Osaka, 590-0481
TEL: 072-452-3901 FAX: 072-453-3559 - (2) Dealing with inspection results
Detection of radiation, if any, shall be treated as a violation of Section 2, Article 11 of the Act, and it shall be confirmed from the importer whether there is presence of irradiation in the producing countries of the products as well as of raw materials.
- (1) Standard dose of Irradiation
VII. Implementation Guidelines for Monitoring Inspection of Radioactive Materials
- 1. Targets
- (1) Target foods
Mushrooms and their dried products, reindeer meat, berries and its processed products(processed concentrated berries, puree, paste, preservation in syrup, juice, etc.), beef extracts, poultry and meat extracts, beef, pork, chicken, duck meat, butter, natural cheese, processed cheese, tea (non-, semi-, and full-fermented), processed fruits and fruit juices used as raw materials, spices, herb and its processed products, honey. - (2) Target areas
The foods above are imported from Europe (Turkey and west of the Ural Mountains of the former Soviet Union), etc. - (3) Items to be inspected and number of inspections
Inspection shall be carried out to find evidence of radioactive materials. The number of inspections shall be as specified in the scope of compositional standards, etc. in Schedule 1.
- (1) Target foods
- 2. Inspection methods
- (1) Collection of specimens
Specimens shall be collected according to the methods listed in the inspection item “Radioactive Materials” of Schedule 4. - (2) Methods of testing
Testing shall be carried out according to the methods specified in the “Testing Methods for Radioactive Cesium in Foods” (Notice No. 0315, Article 5 from the Department of Food Safety, dated on March 15, 2012), or “Partial Revision of the Screening Methods for Radioactive Cesium in foods” in the notice dated March 1, 2012.
- (1) Collection of specimens
VIII. Implementation Guidelines for Monitoring Inspections Concerning Planned Imported Foods
- 1. Implementation of the inspection
- (1) Inspection at the time of initial declaration
For agricultural products under the importation procedures stipulated in Section 4, Article 32 of the Ordinance for Enforcement of the Act, on-site inspection and inspection for residual agricultural chemicals must be conducted upon their initial declaration. For cases where reports of voluntary inspection are attached and the monitoring inspection for residual agricultural chemicals seems unnecessary, confirm with the Office of Import Food Safety, by way of the Administration Office. - (2) Confirmation of cargo information
Contact the relevant importer in the previous month of the planned arrival date, and confirm the date of importation, the disposal schedule, the name of the customs broker, and other information required for inspection. If the cargo will clear the customs aboard ship, sufficiently coordinate with the importer to realize smooth collection of specimens, and ensure that the quarantine station that has jurisdiction over the arrival port will collect the specimens appropriately.
- (1) Inspection at the time of initial declaration
- 2. Collection of the specimens
The quarantine station that has accepted the initial declaration shall implement the monitoring inspection according to the importation plan submitted by the importer, in consideration of the time of importation, the area of production, etc., approximately at the frequencies indicated below. In cases where the targeted cargo arrives at a port under the jurisdiction of another quarantine station, consult with the relevant station to develop an appropriate inspection plan.Annual number of imports under the importation plan (from the second time on) Times of monitoring (from the second time on) 11-40 1 41 ≦ 2 - 3. Other
In the inspection specified in 2., a huge amount of cargo needs to be promptly dealt with if the cargo belonging to the same lot is dealt with at more than one port and if that cargo is identified as violating the Act. Therefore, it shall be ensures that the inspection will be implemented at the first port