Voluntary Report - public distribution

**Date:** 11/17/2003

**GAIN Report Number:** JA3074

JA3074

**Japan**

**Sanitary/Phytosanitary/Food Safety**

**Proposed deletion of approved additives**

**2003**

**Approved by:**

![](media/image1.wmf)Kevin Latner

#### U. S. Embassy

**Prepared by:**

Tetsuo Hamamoto

**Report Highlights:**

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) is reviewing additives
that are approved under the Food Sanitation Law and delisting those that
are not commercially used. MHLW is now asking input from all
stakeholders on the list of candidate additives to be delisted.

Includes PSD Changes: No

Includes Trade Matrix: No

Unscheduled Report

Tokyo \[JA1\]

\[JA\]

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) is reviewing additives
that are approved under the Food Sanitation Law and delisting those that
are not commercially used. MHLW is now asking input from all
stakeholders on the list of candidate additives to be delisted.

MHLW published a list of "Existing Food Additives" on April 16, 1996.
The list may be found from the JETRO website
(http://www.jetro.go.jp/se/e/standards_regulation/foodadd-e/foodadd1.pdf).
The reference is written in English, but you may need to download the
Asian Language Package to read the file.

Any food additive appearing in the list, and any food or preparation
containing such food additive, are not subject to the provisions of
Article 6 of the Food Sanitation Law as an interim measures in the
amendments to the law. Therefore, sale, or manufacture, importation,
use, etc. for sale of such food additives have been permitted.

The revision of the Food Sanitation Law in 2003 requires MHLW to delete
the additives that are not commercially used and to begin risk
assessment of the remaining additives listed on as "Existing Food
Additives."

Once the additives are deleted from the list, they will be no longer
permitted use in foods, unless they are re-designated under the legal
framework.

Any parties who would like to respond to the investigation should send
their comments to the address below in MHLW by December 26, 2003.

Food Additives Section

Standards and Evaluation Division

Department of Food Safety

Pharmaceutical and Food Safety Bureau

MHLW

Fax: 81-3-3501-4868

Emal: <kijunfa@mhlw.go.jp>

The comments must contain: Name of additives concerned, Documentation
showing sales amount, etc, Name of the company marketing the additives
and point of contact.

MHLW will publish the list of candidate additives to be deleted in early
2004 with a six-month comment and revision period, announce the final
list in early 2005, and implement it six months after the announcement.

008: Achromopeptidase

002: Aeromonas gum

007: Agrobacterium succinoglycan

335: Balata

067: Barley husk extract

343: Beet saponin

352: Betel nut extract

416: Borapet

429: Citrus seed extract

140: Cristobalite

242: Dropwort extract

222: Edible canna extract

056: Ellagic acid

064: Endomaltohexaohydrolase

065: Endomaltopentaohydrolase

060: Enju saponin

062: Enterobacter gum

063: Enterobacter simanus gum

169: Enzymatically modified licorice extract

058: Erwinia mitsuensis gum

360: Ferritin

040: Fig leaf extract

354: Fir balsam

482: Forsythia extract

370: Fructosyl transferase-treated stevia

363: L-Fucose

409: Garden balsam extract

367: Grape seed extract

137: Gutta katiau

328: Hachiku extract

388: Hego-Ginkgo leaf extract

415: jojoba wax

079: Kauri gum

163: Alpha-Ketoglutaric acid (extract)

166: Kojic acid

133: Kusagi color

462: Lac color

480: Levan

422: Madake extract

410: Magnolia obovata extract

426: Maltose phosphorylase

421: Mastic gum

432: Miracle fruit extract

306: Monellin

453: Montan wax

443: Mousouchiku charcoal extract

159: Mulberry bark extract

437: Muramidase

433: Myrrh

323: Neuraminidase

319: Nitrilase

324: Nordihydroguaiaretic acid

458: Oil stuff seed wax

073: Oligogalacturonic acid

071: Opopanax resin

346: Peanut color

043: Polyfructan (inulin type)

382: Powdered rice hulls

450: Rice hull extract

041: Rice straw ash extract

202: Sandarac resin

225: Sappan color

241: Sepiolite

188: Sesame seed oil unsaponified matter

238: Sesamol

237: Sesamolin

162: Spermaceti wax

229: Superoxide disumutase

269: Tea seed saponin

284: Tenryocha extract

277: Theobromine

304: Trehalose phosphorylase

66: Urucury wax

350: Xhantomonas campestris protein (Ice nucleatic protein, Ice
nucleating protein)