In March 2022, the Consumer Affairs Agency of Japan issued the “Guidelines for Labeling the Non-Use of Food Additives” (hereinafter referred to as the “Guidelines”) in order to regulate the messy situation of “no additive” claims on food packages, and set a two-year transition period for the Guidelines. The two-year transition period has expired, and the Guidelines will come into effect in April of this year. So, after this regulation comes into effect, will it be possible to claim “no additives” on food packaging in Japan?
I. Who the Guidelines apply to
1. Food category: The Guidelines apply to general food products, including health food products such as dietary supplements.
2. Scope of application: The scope of application of the Guidelines is limited to the contents of product packaging, and the contents of advertisements such as websites and leaflets are not subject to the Guidelines. In addition, the Guidelines only apply to food additives, and claims such as “gluten-free” that do not fall into the category of food additives are not subject to the Guidelines.
Ⅱ.Types of Claims Explicitly Prohibited in the Guidelines
The Guidelines specify ten types of claims that should be prohibited and are likely to mislead consumers.
1. The type of vague expression: If the food package only says “no additives”, but does not specify which additives have not been used, it is easy to cause consumers to misunderstand. Therefore, it is necessary to avoid this type of vague and non-specific statements.
2. Distinguish between natural and synthetic additives: The Japanese Food Administration believes that food additives are safe as long as they are approved for use, and that no distinction should be made between artificial, synthetic, chemical and natural additives. Therefore, in the future, the use of expressions such as “no artificial sweeteners”, “no synthetic colors”, “no chemical flavoring”, etc. is likely to face penalties.
3. Types of “no additives” claims for foods outside the scope of application: If the use of a certain additive or all additives is already prohibited in a certain food, it is not permissible to make a claim of “no (certain) additives” on the product packaging. For example, in Japan, it is prohibited to add sorbic acid to beverages, so claiming that “no sorbic acid is used” on the package of a beverage is considered a violation of the law.
4. Types of additives with the same or similar functions: It is also a violation of the law to claim that a certain additive is not used on the product packaging, but other additives with the same or similar functions are used in the formulation. For example, although a product does not use preservatives, but added other additives that can achieve the purpose of preservation. In this case, according to this article, the product is not allowed to claim that “no preservatives are used” on the package.
5. Use of the same or similar function of the type of raw materials: If the product packaging claims that a certain additive is not used, but in the formulation of the same or similar to its function of the use of raw materials, is also a violation of the claim. For example, if a product does not use emulsifiers, but uses highly processed ingredients that have an emulsifying effect, the product may not claim “no emulsifiers” on the product packaging.
6. Types of links to health and safety: “0 additives” does not necessarily mean that the food is healthier or safer, so expressions or claims that link “additive-free” to health and safety are prohibited. For example, “no additives, safer to eat” and other similar expressions may not be used on food packaging.
7. Types of Links to Other Matters: The Guidelines state that it is prohibited to link “additive-free” to food flavor if the manufacturer cannot provide a strong causal link. Therefore, the statement “0 additives for better flavor” is likely to be judged by the regulator as a violation. Meanwhile, the Guidelines also pointed out that the expression “no preservatives added, please consume it as soon as possible” without mentioning “after opening” is likely to give consumers the misunderstanding that the product must be consumed before the shelf-life, which contradicts the provisions of Article 3 of the Food Labeling Standards, and therefore violates the law. This is in conflict with Article 3 of the Standard for Food Labeling and therefore carries a high risk of non-compliance. FoodPartner.com suggests to revise the statement to “No preservatives are added to this product, please consume it as soon as possible after opening the package” to avoid the risk.
8. Claims of “no additives” for foods that do not use additives by default: This type of claim refers to a situation in which the consumer defaults to a food product that does not use certain additives because similar products on the market usually do not use certain additives. For example, mineral water does not usually use preservatives or coloring agents, so the consumer defaults that the mineral water does not contain preservatives or coloring agents, and in this case, it is prohibited to claim that “no preservatives/coloring agents are used” on the package of the mineral water.
9. Types of processing aids and additives: If processing aids are used in the processing of the food, or if additives are brought in through the raw materials, or if it is not possible to determine whether there is a possibility of the aforementioned, it is not permitted to claim that no additives have been used on the packaging of the product. For example, if a preservative is used in the jam that is the raw material of jam bread, even if no further preservative is used in the bread as the final product, a claim that “no preservative is used” is not allowed on the product package according to this Article.
10. Types of over-emphasis: It is prohibited to mislead consumers by over-emphasizing and exaggerating the absence of additives. For example, a food does not use coloring agents, but the use of other food additives. Its product packaging with conspicuous large font size in many places to identify “no additives”, in inconspicuous places with small font size label “coloring agent”, at this time, according to this article, is a violation of the labeling.
Summary:
The Code is not intended to prohibit all “additive-free” claims, but rather to regulate food labelling at the regulatory level to protect consumers. As long as the manufacturer complies with the requirements of the Guidelines, is based on facts and does not mislead consumers, it is permissible to make additive-free claims on food packaging.
