The 145th Annual Meeting of the Pharmaceutical Society of Japan (Fukuoka)

Organizer: Hiroshi Akiyama (Sch. Pharm. & Pharm. Sci., Hoshi Univ.), Noriyuki Suzuki (Fac. Pharm. Sci., Toho Univ.)

As the population ages, people are being asked to take care of their own health without relying solely on medical institutions and medicines. In addition, with the start of the Health Support Pharmacy System, the role of pharmacy pharmacists as comprehensive health and medical consultants, including health functional foods, is becoming clearer. However, in March 2024, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare announced the occurrence of health damage believed to be caused by the functional food containing red koji as an ingredient. Details of the ingredients and circumstances that caused this health damage are gradually becoming clear. Since the product that caused it was a "the functional food," various problems have been pointed out, such as the system surrounding health functional foods, including functional food, and methods of ensuring safety, and regulations are being revised. In this symposium, we would like to discuss the causes of accidents caused by functional food, the direction of regulations regarding labeling, efficacy, and safety, in order to create a system that properly utilizes the "functionality of food" while ensuring "food safety."