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.