Abstract
According to the annual food poisoning statistics compiled by the Ministry of
Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) in Japan, Campylobacter
replaced Salmonella and Vibrio
parahaemolyticus as the leading bacterium responsible for food
poisoning in 2003. Although in 2006 the number of cases of
Campylobacter food poisoning was 3,439 on the basis of the
MHLW statistics, it was estimated to be 1,545,363 on the basis of active
surveillance, suggesting that passive surveillance yields an incidence about 450
times lower than that revealed by active surveillance. Epidemiological
investigations of Campylobacter food poisoning in Japan have
shown that chicken meat and its products are the most important sources of
infection, as is the case in other industrialized nations. Over the last two
decades, the consumption of fresh raw chicken meat and liver has been increasing
in Japan. Although the MHLW recommends that chicken meat should only be eaten
after thorough cooking, it is likely to account for much of the increased
incidence of human campylobacteriosis. In response to this situation, the Expert
Committee on Microorganisms/Viruses, Food Safety Commission of Japan, Cabinet
Office, Government of Japan (FSCJ) has revised the previous risk profile of
C. jejuni/coli in chicken meat by adding
new findings for 2018. Moreover, the MHLW revised the Poultry Slaughtering
Business Control and Poultry Meat Inspection Act in 2014 aiming at stepwise
introduction of the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) system into
poultry processing plants. Subsequently, the Japanese government amended the
Food Sanitation Act in 2018, requiring all food business operators to implement
hygiene control based on HACCP principles as a general rule. This paper reviews
the current status of Campylobacter food poisoning due to
consumption of chicken meat in Japan and extracts the issues underlying each
step of the food supply chain in order to examine the implementation of
effective measures for risk management.
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