Food Safety

Their decision to establish the Food Safety Research Institute in June 2002 was prompted by their awareness of the importance of food safety, and by their determination to respond promptly to the needs of society. The Institute, which is located in Shiga, Japan, Prefecture, operates independently from other divisions. It has taken over the functions and roles of its predecessors, the Food Safety Center and the Food Inspection Section, and is structured as an integrated framework for the quality and safety operations of Nissin Foods. The Food Safety Research Institute has also inherited the strong corporate commitment to the needs of consumers.

They have further strengthened their raw material quality management systems in China with the launch of the Nissin Shanghai Food Safety Evaluation & Research Institute, which became fully operational in November 2006.

All Nissin Foods factories have two tiers of quality management. In addition to management systems based on the ISO 9001 standard, they also implement quality management procedures using the control survey and central management systems developed by the Food Safety Research Institute.

The control survey system is used to correct variations in the accuracy of analyses carried out at different factories. The Food Safety Research Institute regularly sends samples of the same types of flour, frying oil and other products for analysis. The results are compared at the Institute, which then provides guidance where needed to eliminate variation in quality evaluations.

Through the central management system, the Food Safety Research Institute feeds back analysis results to the factories. Each month, 3,000 product samples are sent to the Institute for standardized analysis. The results are used to ensure uniform quality management by eliminating variations in the quality of identical food products manufactured at different sites.

The Food Safety Research Institute conducts regular and random inspections of production sites operated by Nissin Foods and its suppliers in Japan and overseas. These inspections are based on the Nissin Foods' Inspection Standards for Food Safety (NISFOS), which were established by the Food Safety Research Institute in April 2004. In addition to inspections of production facilities operated by Nissin Foods and its suppliers in Japan, the inspectors also check the raw materials used, including the growing and management conditions for vegetables, the conditions under which livestock are raised and the kinds of feed they eat. The aim of these inspections is to ensure the safety of all food production sites through evaluations based on objective audit standards.

In November 2001, the Food Safety Research Institute developed a system that could simultaneously analyze 60 types of agricultural chemicals and began accumulating data through this system. This work resulted in the development of the *NASRAD-550 detection system for residual agricultural chemicals and veterinary pharmaceuticals.

The NASRAD-550 system consists of three high-speed analysis systems: *NASRAC-450, which can analyze around 450 chemical substances in general agricultural products, the *NASRAC-G250, which can detect approximately 250 different substances in cereals, and the *NASVED-100, which is designed to detect about 100 animal feed additives and veterinary pharmaceuticals in livestock and marine products.

The Food Safety Research Institute carries out bacteriological testing using techniques based on genetic information. The institute has developed three inspection methods: a rapid PCR assay for detection of specific bacteria, a PCR assay for detection of acetic acid-tolerant lactic acid bacteria, and a PCR assay for detection of emetic bacillus cereus. In the past, each test item took 24–48 hours. However, the methods used by the Food Safety Research Institute have dramatically reduced the time required, allowing batch testing for multiple organisms to be completed in just 5-7 hours.

Currently the Food Safety Research Institute conducts both traditional bacteriological tests of samples from factories, based on the official methods of analysis stipulated in the Food Sanitation Inspection Guidelines, as well as these new methods.

In January 2006, the Food Safety Research Institute introduced a method for detecting 12 of the 20 substances for which allergy labeling in recommended. This method is based on the amplification of substances in the 12 ingredients that include specific DNA arrays. It is now being used to ascertain whether these substances are contained in food products. A patent application is currently pending. In May 2006, a license of the technology began to provide contract testing services for some of the substances for food manufacturers and other companies.