HACCP in Japan

Submitted by: Jason Munsch, Alberta Exchange to Japan
Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development

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Introduction

Working in a Japanese company in the product development area gave me an opportunity to see all of the different food areas separately. The Product Development Department, when developing a new product, must consult with the appropriate product buyers before taking any steps. The Product Development employee and the buyers work together in order to make a product that can best suit their customers' needs.

With the Japanese economy in a recessive slump, the funds that are being used for product development are not as great as in the past. However, this does not mean that new products are not being developed.

In order to supply a safe and reliable product to its consumers, the Product Development Department must ensure that the companies chosen are practising HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) and TQM (total quality management). This is especially true in the case of foreign companies wanting to export to Japan.

HACCP's Influence in the Future

I was able to attend a lecture on HACCP and its importance to the company's employees. The main focus of the lecture was the management cycle and explanation of HACCP. HACCP is used because of food problems that have appeared recently. It started with McDonald's in 1982 when there was a problem with their hamburgers. Even organic foods are not safe from the spread of harmful bacteria, especially if cow or horse manure is used as fertilizer.

HACCP is:

food product cost, risk assessment and management
GMP (good management practice) which, according to HACCP, is risk management
crisis management
thorough investigations of what happened

The speaker stressed that as a food company, one has to determine a limit, then analyse each product and remove the products that do not pass the restrictions. When determining what is a hazard the most important point to remember is that if it is "reasonably likely to occur", then is it a possible problem and the proper precautions should be taken.

HACCP Key Points:

One has to have a decided process (documentation) about how to do things
The company should develop a flow chart as a team
Preventive maintenance (keep in mind that "if it is reasonably likely to occur" then it is a possible hazard)
Employee education
Flow chart implementation
Constant monitoring of results and maintenance of program

Problems When HACCP is Introduced:

· All members of management do not accept GMP
· The difficulty of the hazard analysis is too high
· Deciding what is the critical control point is also difficult
· The documentation may not cover all possible problems and cause confusion

Problems Introducing HACCP in Japan:

There is no GMP
There are many small scale operations. To change every one of them would be very time consuming
Fresh perishable items are not treated with extreme importance
People's ideas are difficult to change because of cultural differences

Pepsi ran into trouble when syringes were found in its pop cans in the early 90's. The recall and reaction time of the company saved its image. At the moment, there is no recall system in Japan. Right now, it is very important to decide on a "recall system" and a "recall team" to handle these types of critical matters properly. Furthermore, one to two spokespersons should be chosen and trained to deal with the media.

In order to make the market safe for consumers, food products where HACCP is not used will not likely be allowed in stores in the near future.

Not only HACCP is important, but HACCP and TQM go hand in hand for making a safe food company.

Some important books that the lecturer mentioned are:

HACCP Workshops Manual, 1993
K.E Stevenson & D. T Bernard
The Food Processors Institute

Food Code, 1997
US Public Health Service, FDA

HACCP Training Curriculum
National Seafood Alliance

This information is maintained by: Gail Atkinson
Last Revised/Reviewed January 27, 1999

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HACCP in Japan

Submitted by: Jason Munsch, Alberta Exchange to Japan Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development

This information is maintained by: Gail Atkinson Last Revised/Reviewed January 27, 1999

Submitted by: Jason Munsch, Alberta Exchange to Japan
Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development

This information is maintained by: Gail Atkinson
Last Revised/Reviewed January 27, 1999