Japan’s Consumer Affairs Agency (CAA) announced that it will add walnuts to the list of allergens that food manufacturers and importers must include on product packaging labels.
Currently, the CAA strongly recommends including walnuts on the label, but does not require their inclusion. CAA will hold a public comment period prior to making this modification to the Food Labeling Standards, but have not yet announced dates for the comment period. Exports of U.S. walnuts to Japan have grown from 10,604 to 21,944 tons over the last decade.
The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) established food allergen labeling standards in 2001 before oversight of the Food Labeling Standard shifted to CAA, a division of the Prime Minister’s Cabinet Office, in 2009. Cabinet Order No.10 currently requires allergy labeling for seven “required ingredients” and highly recommends allergy labeling for 21 “recommended ingredients.”