The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) in Japan has recently run a series of grant projects specifically targeted at businesses wishing to develop their export potential through the operation of a HACCP based food safety management system. The HACCP-compliant facility development project has been made available to Japanese food businesses in order to expand exports of agricultural, forestry, and fishery products and food. Under the grant scheme MAFF will support the costs of maintaining facilities and equipment necessary to comply with regulations (in particular HACCP) as required by export destination countries and regions (subsidy rate up to 50%).
Whilst Government funded export development grants are relatively common around the world, this particular grant scheme is focussed on the materials, equipment and services used to manufacture food. The grant recognises that facility elements themselves (such as walls, floors and ceiling materials) and equipment, greatly influences the potential of certification success for a food business. These areas are often overlooked and in many cases can mean the difference between HACCP certification success and failure for a food business.
Key Points of the Initiative
Support is provided for the construction and renovation of facilities, as well as the installation of equipment, to meet the regulations and conditions (such as food hygiene, halal, kosher, etc.) of export destination countries.
Project Goals
Expansion of export value for agricultural, forestry, and fishery products, and food:
- 5 trillion yen [by 2030]
Project Details
- Facility Development Project
To expand exports of processed foods, support is provided for expenses related to the construction (additional costs) and renovation of manufacturing, processing, and distribution facilities to meet the standards and conditions required by export destination countries.
- Facilities and equipment necessary to obtain certification for HACCP and other requirements set by government agencies of export destination countries.
- Facilities and equipment necessary to obtain certifications such as ISO, FSSC, JFS-C, Organic JAS, etc.
- Facilities and equipment required for manufacturing products that comply with quarantine and additive regulations.
Examples of Facility Improvements
- Renovation of drainage systems, floors, and walls to strengthen hygiene management.
- Installation of rapid freezers for strict temperature control.
- Introduction of equipment (partitions) to prevent contamination via air.
To the best of our knowledge, this is the first export development grant scheme to focus entirely on ‘HACCP Hardware’. Of course, this is the area that the HACCP International certification scheme focusses upon where materials, equipment and services used by the food industry are rigorously assessed to determine suitability for use in a food safety processing environment.
More Information;
Details of the HACCP International Certification Scheme can be found here; https://haccp-international.com/
And certified products consistent with MAFF grant scheme elements can be found here; https://haccp-international.com/registers/
Details of the MAFF Grant scheme are located here; https://www.maff.go.jp/j/shokusan/export/gfp/haccp.html