Guidance to clarify the ‘one-third’ rule and the meaning
Type of practice Reduce
Name of practice Guidance to clarify the ‘one-third’ rule and the meaning
Name of main actor Japanese Consumer Affairs Agency (CAA)
Type of actor(s) Public authority, Company
Location Japan
Stage of implementation Packaging, Retail
Year of implementation 2011
What was/is being done? In April 2011, the Japanese Consumer Affairs Agency (CAA) issued a revised version of
its “ Question & Answer” document for labeling of processed food in order to clarify:
the issues of “use-by” and “best-before” dates; and the voluntary nature of the “onethird
rule”. The document, mostly meant for businesses, promotes the listing of information
for storage conditions and other best practices to facilitate consumer
understanding of food labels.
Outcomes and impacts The Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry
recently involved 40 food retailers, producers and wholesalers in a remarkable initiative
aimed at enhancing cooperation among businesses to ease food quality standards
and improving communication between businesses and consumers so as to make a
common effort to reduce food waste throughout the value chain. The participants also
agreed to ease the “one-third” rule and propose flexible rules in order to tailor delivery
schedules to the specific characteristics of each category of products.