CAN EAT Responds Immediately to Revision of 29 Specified Raw Materials, Supporting Safe Label Transition for Restaurants and Manufacturers with Training

CAN EAT Inc. (Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Eri Tagahara), in response to the revision of the Food Labeling Standard by the Consumer Affairs Agency (adding cashew nuts to specified raw materials and pistachios to items equivalent to specified raw materials), has immediately added items for cashew nut and pistachio allergies to the hearing items and the web allergy chart search system of its food allergy support service 'CAN EAT,' which the company develops and operates.

» CAN EAT Service URL: https://biz.caneat.jp/

■ Overview

・In response to the Consumer Affairs Agency's addition of cashew nuts to specified raw materials (mandatory labeling) and pistachios to items equivalent to specified raw materials (recommended labeling), CAN EAT added the said ingredients to its hearing items and the 'AI Ingredient Tags' of its web allergy chart search system on the same day of the announcement.

・With this revision, the number of specified raw materials, etc., increases from 28 to 29 items (cashew nuts move from recommended to mandatory, and pistachios are newly added).

・For food service businesses, we have started support for risk management of processed foods during the labeling transition period. Leveraging our knowledge from the macadamia nut and matsutake mushroom revisions, we will proactively provide a list of processed foods whose ingredient labels and specification sheets have not yet been updated to each business.

■ Background of Same-Day Addition of 'AI Ingredient Tags'

Based on the results of the 'FY2024 National Survey on Health Damage from Immediate-Type Food Allergies,' the Consumer Affairs Agency decided to move cashew nuts to specified raw materials (mandatory labeling) because the number of cases is increasing and is not considered transient. Additionally, pistachios, whose cases are becoming more apparent with increasing import volumes, were simultaneously added to items equivalent to specified raw materials (recommended labeling).

CAN EAT completed its response on the same day of this revision announcement. With CAN EAT's originally developed 'AI Ingredient Tag' function, ingredients and processed foods that may contain cashews and pistachios are automatically tagged, ensuring that food service businesses can check them without omission during allergy hearings.

■ Labeling Revision = 'Switching Everything Immediately' is Dangerous

Even when allergy labeling is revised, there is a significant risk for food service businesses to switch the items on their allergy charts immediately.

Even after a revision is promulgated, it takes time for food manufacturers to revise their ingredient labels and specification sheets. This is precisely why a two-year transition period is provided. If a food service business lists 'cashew-free' on its chart before the manufacturers' labeling has caught up, there is a risk of erroneously judging a processed product as 'not containing' cashews when its presence has not actually been confirmed on the specification sheet. CAN EAT believes this 'labeling transition period' is the highest-risk period and will conduct training as follows.