Level of trust in functional foods claims in Japan 2024
Close to half of Japanese consumers trusted functional foods, as revealed in an April 2024 survey. The largest share of respondents, over 40 percent, stated that they believed in the claims and explanations on labels of functional foods to an extent, while 8.6 percent showed a high level of trust.
Foods with function claims are a form of “foods with health claims” in Japan that can be labeled with function claims of ingredients based on scientific evidence. Unlike “foods for specified health uses (FOSHU)”, products do not require an evaluation process of their effectiveness and safety by the government. However, the responsibility for claims and product safety remains with the respective food businesses.
