Japan: Japan’s New Health Claims Labeling System Creates Opportunities

In April 2015, Japan’s Consumer Affairs Agency (CAA), the governmental organization charged with oversight of food labeling and health claims, introduced a third category of health claim labeling for food and expanded the reach of another category, opening the door to new marketing strategies for U.S. health foods. This new category of voluntary labeling is known as Food with Functional Claims (FFC) and allows companies to display a product’s specific health benefit (aka “functionality”) and an associated area of the human body on retail food packaging.1 This new FFC registration process is more affordable and faster than the registration process for Food for Specialized Health Uses (FOSHU). CAA also revised its regulations for Food with Nutrient Functional Claims (FNFC) to increase product eligibility, expand the list of eligible nutrients, and to include fresh foods. These changes by the CAA should create new opportunities for U.S. exporters to the world’s third largest health food market. 

Japan: Japan’s New Health Claims Labeling System Creates Opportunities