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Global harmonization of food safety regulations: perspectives from Japan after the Fukushima nuclear accident
Author(s) -
Yoshida Mitsuru
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of the science of food and agriculture
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 142
eISSN - 1097-0010
pISSN - 0022-5142
DOI - 10.1002/jsfa.6399
Subject(s) - accreditation , nuclear power , harmonization , business , food safety , quality (philosophy) , nuclear power plant , fukushima nuclear accident , nuclide , political science , food science , law , biology , ecology , philosophy , physics , epistemology , acoustics , nuclear physics , quantum mechanics
Japanese food self‐sufficiency was only 39% on the basis of kcal in 2012, so Japan relies heavily on imported food. Hence the necessity of having international rules on the regulation of food contaminants is important especially for countries like Japan that depend on food imports. A One‐Stop‐Testing system is desired, in which the test result obtained from a single testing laboratory is accepted as valid worldwide. To establish this system, laboratory accreditation under international standards is a necessary step. Furthermore, the importance of supply of reference materials for internal quality control and proficiency testing for external quality control of each laboratory's analytical system is reviewed in connection with the experience of radioactive nuclide contamination resulting from the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident in March 2011. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry