A groundbreaking initiative by
manufacturers, distributors, andconsumers working together to reducefood loss: Toyama Food Loss Zero
Strategy—reducing food loss beginningby revising business practices
Background and Reason for the Project
Cutting to the essence of the food loss
issue following the G7 Toyama Environment
Ministers Meeting
The G7 Environment Ministers Meeting,held in Toyama Prefecture in 2016, adopted
the “Toyama Framework on Material Cycles,”which endeavours to promote the reductionof food loss and food waste and steadily
implement initiatives such as the effective
recycling of food waste.
In response, Toyama Prefecture establishedthe “Toyama Prefectural Residents’ Council for
Promoting the Reduction of Food Loss andFood Waste” comprising experts andrepresentatives of related organisations.
Centred on the Residents’ Council, amovement involving all residents of Toyama
Prefecture the Toyama Food Loss Zero
Strategy was then launched.
Food waste due to food loss in Toyama
Prefecture amounts to approx. 43,000 tons
per year, with 40% of this waste estimated tobe generated by businesses.
In Japan, there are stringent businesspractices in the field of food distribution,
whereby businesses must strictly keep toshort delivery deadlines in order to supply
products to consumers without stock runningout, and these practices are regarded as one
reason behind the occurrence of large
amounts of food loss. Improvement of suchbusiness practices are difficult for businesses
to address individually and need to beresolved by the entire food chain, with foodrelated businesses working together incooperation with consumers and government
bodies.
Accordingly, in Toyama Prefecture theToyama Prefecture

Expert Committee to Consider Business
Practices was established under thePrefectural Residents’ Council and isconducting discussions aimed at revisingbusiness practices such as the so-called “1/3Rule”. At the Prefectural Residents’ Council
meeting held in March 2019, it was agreed
that businesses, consumers, and government
bodies would collaborate together withprefectural residents all coming together as
one to undertake the revision of businesspractices in order to reduce food loss.

Conclusion of a joint agreement by membersof the Prefectural Residents’ Council1

Project Aims
By revising business practices within thedistribution process, the project aims toessentially resolve issues in order to reducebusiness-related food loss generated by foodrelated
businesses(manufacturers,wholesalers, retailers).

conducting campaigns to prioritise thepurchase of products that are close to theirbest-by/use-by dates
4. Supporting retail store efforts to sell out
products
Features and Innovation
This groundbreaking project endeavours toreduce food loss through manufacturers,
distributors, and consumers coming together
to revise business practices in the food
distribution field.
Manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers
meet together under one roof to conduct
discussions and promote initiatives aimed atrevising business practices throughout the
food chain in Toyama Prefecture with theunderstanding of consumers.

Project Outline
In order to reduce food loss, the projecttargets business practices in the distribution
process that are particular to Japan, strongly
promotingunderstandingfromthemanufacturing, distribution, and consumer
sectors.
1. Establishing an expert committee toconsider revising business practices thatare unique to Japan
An expert committee comprising ofrepresentatives of food-related businesses(manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers) andconsumer organisations was established. This
committee considers measures aimed atrevising business practices at the food
distribution stage, as well as expanding thenumber of businesses participating in theproject.
2. Recruiting/registeringbusinesses
declaring to revise their businesspractices
The project recruits and registers
businesses that agree to revise their businesspractices and endeavours to increase thenumber of businesses participating in theproject.
<Content of main initiatives>
Manufacturers: Extend “Best-by” periods; uselabelling showing “Best-by” month and year
Wholesalers: Working in collaboration withretailers; relax delivery deadlines
Retailers: Relax deadlines for delivery frommanufacturers and wholesalers; extend
deadlines for store sales

Results of the Project
Awareness regarding food loss among
food-related businesses and consumers has
increased tremendously.
Since the launch of the project, the numberof registered companies that vow to revise
their business practices has grown to 24 (as ofAugust 2020). Especially notable is the factthat supermarkets comprising approx. 80% of
the food sales share in Toyama Prefecture areparticipating in the project.
Issues and Responses
Businesses: Prefecture-wide expansion ofefforts is essential in order to revise businesspractices.
Businesses endeavouring to revise theirbusiness practices have commented that “theunderstanding of all trading partners isnecessary with regard to revising businesspractices.” Accordingly, in addition toencouraging individual businesses to steadily
implement initiatives, there is also a need tocontinue expanding the number of businesses
participating in the project.
Consumers: Increases in awareness that go
one step beyond acknowledgement arenecessary
Although prefectural residents’ awareness

3. Encouraging consumers’ understanding
・ Holding forums and other educational
events; compiling and distributing collectionsof case studies and fliers・ Working in collaboration with retailers,2regarding the revision of business practices isgradually increasing, there has been little
observation of consumers who purchaseproducts close to the best-by date when it
comes to items that they intend to use soon.
Because it is difficult to say that the project
has led to behavioural changes in a practicalsense, there is a need to further promote
understanding among consumers.

to retailers (delivery deadline), the deadline
for the product to be sold by stores iscustomarily fixed. For example, for productswith a best-by period of 180 days, shipment
becomes impossible after 60 days (first 1/3)
and the products are removed from store
shelves when one-third or less of the best-by
period remains; many of these removed
products are then disposed of.

Future Developments
In 2020, Toyama Prefecture formulated the“Toyama Prefecture Plan for Promoting theReduction of Food Loss”. As a frontrunner inthe reduction of food loss, Toyama Prefecture
intends to further accelerate initiatives,
including the revision of business practices,with the aim of realising a sustainable society.
In the approx. four years since the project
was launched, efforts to reduce food loss havebegun to take root among both businesses
and consumers. Centred on the Prefectural
Residents’ Council, Toyama Prefecture willcontinue to steadily implement the abovementioned plan.
Revising business practices is an issue thatone prefecture cannot completely resolve
alone. By disseminating information about
our efforts as a pioneering model, Toyama
Prefecture hopes to raise the project to thelevel of an initiative representative of Japan.
Reference URLs
https://foodlosszero.jp/(Toyama Prefecture Food Loss Reduction
Education Website: “Toyama Food Loss ZeroStrategy” (available in Japanese only))Contact
Division in charge: Agricultural Food Product
Division
Phone: +81-076-444-3282
E-mail: anousanshokuhin@pref.toyama.lg.jp
Key Terms◆Delivery/deadlines for processed foods (1/3Rule)
The period between a product’s
manufacture and the deadline for its delivery
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