Draft Specifications and Standards for Meat Intended to Be Eaten Raw  
(Provisional Translation)  
 
The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) is going to establish specifications and 
standards for meat intended to be eaten raw.  
Pursuant to Article 11 Paragraph 1 of the Food Sanitation Act, the Minister of Health, Labour and 
Welfare is authorized , from the viewpoint of public health, to establish standards for producing, 
processing, using, cooking, or preserving food or additives to be served for the purpose of 
marketing or to establish specifications for the compositions of food or additives to b e served for 
the purpose of marketing, by hearing the opinions of the Pharmaceutical Affairs and Food 
Sanitation Council.  
Earlier this year, there was an Enterohemorrhagic E. coli outbreak in Japan. The health authorities 
suspect that it was associated wi th raw consumption of meat. As of the end of June, there were 
about 160 patients including 4 deaths. To ensure food safety, the MHLW has decided to establish 
appropriate specifications and standards based on the act. The proposed specifications and 
standar ds will be finalized and be put into effect as early as in October.  
  
 
1. Compositional specifications for meat intended to be eaten raw (in the 
specifications and standards, “meat” is confined to “beef  excluding offal ”) 
(1) Meat intended to be eaten raw shall be Enterobacteriaceae  negative per 25g of sample .  
(2) Records of Enterobacteriaceae  negative test results shall be retained for 1 year.  
 
2. Standards for  the processing of meat intended to be eaten raw  
Meat intended to be eaten raw shall be processed in a manner that meets the 
requirements given below.  Compliance with the requirements  is equivalent to the level 
at which 25 samples ( with 25 g each ) per meat block that are randomly  collected are all 
tested negative  for Enterobacteriaceae . 
(1) Processing shall be done at a hygienic place that is definitely separated from other places  
and that is  equipped with dedicated facilities necessary to wash and steriliz e instruments 
and utensils.  Instruments  (such as processing tables ) that will come in direct contact with 
meat block s shall be used exclusively for the meat processing purpose. Each time a meat 
block is process ed, the instruments used shall be washed and sterilized.   
(2) Utensils to be used for meat processing  (such as cuttin g boards and knives ) shall  be of 
impermeable materials that are easy to wash and sterilize and to keep clean and hygienic . 
They shall be used exclusively for the  meat  processing purpose . Each time a meat block  is 
processed , the utensils used shall be washed and sterilized using hot water of 83ºC or 
higher.  
(3) Processing sh all be done by persons who have a certain level of hygiene knowledge and 
skills , or it shall be done under the superintendence of these  persons .  (4) Meat blocks shall be treated in a hygienic manner so that they are not contaminated by 
pathogenic organisms. Any processing treatment , except for heat -sterilization , shall be 
done so that the temperature of meat surface will not exceed 10 ºC.  
(5) In processing , any treatment that is likely to help the spread  of pathogenic microorganism 
contamination in the meat shall not be done, including tendering treatments with knives, 
tumbling treatments to infiltrat e seasoning into the meat, and treatments to bind the meat 
with other meat  pieces and shape one meat block .  
(6) Meat blocks to be used for processing shall be in an unfrozen  state and shall be cut out 
from a dressed carcass in a hygienic manner.  
(7) The m eat block s treated as specified in (6) of section 2  shall be placed in  clean and 
hygienic air -tight bags (such as plastic bags) , immediately sealed, and then heat-sterilized 
by a method enabling at least 1 cm subsurface  of the meat to be held at 60ºC for at least 2 
minutes or by any other method providing an comparable or superior effect . After 
heat-sterilization, the meat blocks  shall be immediately cooled to 10ºC or lower.   
(8) Conditions used to conduct  the heat treatment specified in (7) of section 2  shall be 
recorded and th e record shall be retained for 1 year. The c onditions shall include the 
temperature of the water  (or a heating plate and other utensils) used for sterilization and 
the time of heating.   
 
3. Standards for the preparation  of meat  intended to be eaten raw  at eating 
establishments    
(1) The requirements  specified in section 2 , expect for (6) through (8), shall be mutatis 
mutandis applied.  
(2) Meat blocks to be used for preparation shall be products that have undergone the 
treatments specified in (6) and (7) of section 2. 
(3) Meat shall be served immediately after prepared.  
 
4. Standards for the preservation of meat intended to be eaten raw  
(1) Meat intended to be eaten raw shall be preserved at 4ºC or lower . Meat intended to be 
eaten  raw that is in a frozen state shall be preserved at minus 15ºC or lower.  
(2) Meat intended to be eaten raw shall be preserved in clean and hygienic  containers . 
 
 
Note: This document is an English translation of 生食用食肉に係る規格基準 (案). In the 
case of any discrepancy between the Japanese original and the English translation , the 
former will take priority