By Kalene Ann M. Ebora | DTI – Export Marketing Bureau | Food and Agri-Marine Division

29 September 2018

Published also in Business Mirror

IN a move to increase the exporters’ awareness on Japan’s food- safety standards and practices that they can apply in their companies’ food-safety management system,  the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), through the Export Marketing Bureau (EMB) and the Foreign Trade Service Corps, conducted an information session on Japan Food Safety Standards on September 18 in Makati City.

Around 80 participants composed of exporters, business support organizations, government representatives and delegates from Food Safety Network Japan attended the activity.

Rose Marie G. Castillo, Chief of DTI-EMB’s Food and Agri-Marine Division, presented an overview of Philippines-Japan food trade. Castillo highlighted the top Philippine food exports to Japan, which include fresh fruits, tuna, fruit extracts, crustaceans, sugar and sweeteners, as well as the importance of the trade agreements between the Philippines and Japan.

Rochel Francisco, Food and Drug Regulation Officer of the Food and Drug Administration, discussed the Philippines’s Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) implementation and compliance of Philippine establishments.

Sadao Komemushi, Chief Advisor of Food Safety Network (FSN) Japan, discussed Japan’s HACCP Institutionalization and Food Hygiene 7S. He mentioned the importance of incorporating HACCP in the food-safety management systems and emphasized the importance of the top management’s role in HACCP implementation. He said this should be the “Step 0” in the implementation.

Komemushi also discussed Food Hygiene 7S—seiri (sorting out), seiton (systematic arrangement), seisou (sweeping), senjyou (scrubbing), sakkin (sterilization), shitsuke (self-discipline) and seiketsu(cleanliness).

The information session was conducted as part of the activities during FSN’s visit to the Philippines.

The delegation also visited companies in Cebu and Manila to evaluate Philippine companies’ food-safety management system.

Japan is the Philippines’s second-largest export market for food products. In 2017, food exports to Japan amounted to $716 million.