The government is expected to submit a bill to the National Diet next year to revise the food sanitation. The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry in Japan is planning to…

The government is expected to submit a bill to the National Diet next year to revise the food sanitation.

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry in Japan is planning to set up a nationwide system via which companies will be required to report all food recalls to town, cities and prefectures, with the data to be collated and shared online.

The government is expected to submit a bill to the National Diet next year to revise the food sanitation while considering penalties for businesses that fail to report recalls.

There is no system in place to give the central government a nationwide picture of food recalls because reporting them is not obligatory across Japan.

The government plans to more effectively warn manufacturers and consumers while ensuring that information on products that pose risks is shared among local authorities.

Last year, a number of people were infected with the O-157 strain of E. coli bacteria after eating frozen meat cutlets sold by a food company in Kanagawa Prefecture.

The United States and the European Union already have established systems through which manufacturers report food recalls.