In response to the issue of people developing kidney disease after taking supplements sold by Kobayashi Pharmaceutical as foods with functional claims, the Consumer Affairs Agency has published a database on the safety of foods with functional claims. A private research company investigated and found that the information on about 1,000 products, or nearly 15% of the total, had not been updated for more than half a year.
The Consumer Affairs Agency requires businesses to promptly update information when there is a change, and experts say, ``Because information disclosure is left up to companies' autonomy, there is a lack of databases that consumers can use.'' The problem is that this is not the case, and we need a fundamental review of the system."
For foods with functional claims, the business that sells the product submits the scientific basis for safety and functionality to the Consumer Affairs Agency, and a database of this information is made public for anyone to see.
According to the Consumer Affairs Agency, if there is a change in information, businesses are requested to promptly update the information, and they are required to update the information approximately once every six months to see if the product is being sold. However, a detailed analysis of the database as of the 27th by Tokyo Shoko Research revealed that of the 6,749 products currently registered, information on 982 products, accounting for 14.5%, had not been updated for at least half a year. This means that we found out.
In some cases, the address of the company has changed, or information on products from companies that have already gone bankrupt has not been updated. "There is a possibility that we may not be able to do enough, and we could lose consumer trust."
Commenting on the results, Kazunori Matsunaga, a science journalist who is knowledgeable about food safety, said, ``In the first place, foods with functional claims are left to the discretion of companies to disclose the information on which consumers make decisions, and consumers check them before buying them.'' "It's a pretty unreasonable system," he said, adding, "The Consumer Affairs Agency is also responsible for leaving about 15% of products without updated information about every six months. The problem is that we don't have a database that allows us to research and understand information properly, and the system itself needs to be fundamentally reviewed."
Domestic market for foods with functional claims expands year by year
According to Fuji Keizai, a private research company, the domestic market for foods with functional claims is expanding year by year, and is expected to reach 686.5 billion yen last year, compared to 31.4 billion yen in 2015 when the system started. We are planning to do so.
This is an increase of 19.3% from the year before, and is predicted to exceed 700 billion yen this year.
In particular, food and beverages that claim to have benefits
such as ▽reducing fat and
▽improving sleep quality are driving market expansion.
On the other hand, the market for "Food for Specified Health Uses (FOSHU)" has been shrinking since 2019, and is expected to decrease by more than 4% to 269 billion yen last year compared to the year before.
Fuji Keizai analyzes that one of the reasons for the growth in the market for foods with functional claims is that they are easier to submit compared to FOSHU, which requires more time and money to undergo national examinations.