Category Archives: Chemical pollution

Japan Resources – No 175

Biotechnology, Chemical pollution, Waste,

Please click here CUJ-JR-175 for the latest issue of Japan Resources, our English newsletter.

This year CUJ celebrates its 50th anniversary.

We hope you will continue to stay updated with CUJ’s activities and news on our English website, and support our campaigns!

Contents:

From the Editors: Hot, Hotter & Hottest
CUJ 50th Anniversary Seminar
Japan-South Korea-Taiwan Joint Statement on RNA Interference Potato
G20: Ban Microcapsules in Home and Personal Care Products
Glyphosate in Bread
Please Join Our One Million Signature Petition Campaign: “Regulate All Gene-edited Food!”

G20: Ban Microcapsules in Home and Personal Care Products

Chemical pollution, Environment, Waste,

May 10, 2019

Consumers Union of Japan (CUJ)

Japan Endocrine-disruptor Preventive Action (JEPA)

Toxic Watch Network Japan

Chemical Sensitivity Support Center

Association for Voluntary Ban on Fragrance

Consumers Union of Japan Kansai group

Mr. SEKO Hiroshige, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry

Mr. HARADA Yoshiaki, Minister of Environment

Mr. NEMOTO Takumi, Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare

Urgent Proposal
To Ban Microcapsules in Home and Personal Care Products

We urge the Japanese government to lead the world in regulating microplastics at G20 in Osaka.

We are a coalition of six Japanese citizen groups acting against unacceptable fragrance attack called “KOGAI” (香害=scent damage) in Japan. Recently, many of home and personal care products contain more and more synthetic fragrance substances. Of note, fabric softeners have caused unprecedented adverse health effects to Japanese people including children. When CUJ opened a telephone consultation “KOGAI 110” for two days in 2017 to collect voices from KOGAI victims, it received more than two hundreds phone calls from all over the country.

Meanwhile, microplastic marine pollution is getting more serious worldwide and drastic measures are required. Although the efforts to reduce microbeads in cosmetics and toothpastes have been started voluntarily by the manufacturers, it seems that the microcapsule problems have not been clearly recognized in Japan and no measures have been taken. Since the major purpose of fragrance encapsulation technology used in home and personal care products is to last the fragrance long, we believe that the technology is one of the main causes of KOGAI.

The microcapsules used in fabric softeners and synthetic detergents are supposed to be broken into smaller pieces in the environment and the debris could cause plastic pollution in the soil and the ocean. Moreover, micro-size particles, including air pollutant PM2.5, may reach deep into the lungs when inhaled. Consequently, the microcapsule debris could be very harmful to humans.

Therefore, we urge G20 governments to ban microcapsules in home and personal care products. We hope the Japanese government to lead the world in regulating microplastics at G20 in Osaka.

Proposals

1. The microcapsules in home and personal care products should be banned. In addition, the reduction plans for microcapsules should be explicitly included in “The Plastic Resources Recycling Strategy” proposed at G20 in Osaka.

2. It should be explicitly stated that microcapsules are included in microplastics in “The Law concerning Adequate Disposal of Marine Debris in the Way of Good Scenes and Environments on Beaches and Sea Surroundings to Protect Beautiful and Rich Nature” and “the Plastic Resource Recycling Strategy”.

Reasons for the Proposals

  1. Microplastics are fine plastics with a size of 5mm or less. There are two types of microplastics: “primary microplastic” which is intentionally manufactured in micro size such as microbeads and microcapsules, and “secondary microplastic” which is manufactured in larger sizes and be broken down to micro size in the environment.
  2. It is unclear whether microcapsules are included in the microplastics category in “The Plastic Resources Recycling Strategy” and “The Law Concerning Adequate Disposal of Marine Debris in the Way of Good Scenes and Environments on Beaches and Sea Surroundings to Protect Beautiful and Rich Nature” revised in June 2018. The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) submitted to the European Commission a proposal report on a regulation of “intentionally added microplastics” in January 2019. In the proposal, ECHA recommended that microcapsules contained in home and personal care products should be banned in the European region within five years.
  3. Many fabric softeners, synthetic detergents, and other home and personal care products contain microcapsules made of plastics (synthetic resins) to encapsulate fragrance substances. The fragrance encapsulation technology is used in 10 to 20% of synthetic detergents and about 60% of fabric softeners (including scented beads) worldwide. Therefore, numerous pieces of microcapsules could be emitted in the air, the ocean, and the soil from the laundry and the waste water. In any cases some of the microcapsules could be transported in human bodies and cause adverse health effects. The microcapsule wall materials are melamine resins, polyurethanes, polyureas, and polyacrylates. When microcapsule wall materials are polyurethane, an extremely dangerous substance called isocyanate could be released into the environment. We believe that the microcapsules in home and personal care products should be banned immediately, since it could exacerbate plastic pollution of the soil, the ocean, the air, and human bodies.

Contact Information:

Consumers Union of Japan (CUJ)

Nishi Waseda 1-9-19-207

Shinjuku-Ku, Tokyo

Japan 169-0051

Glyphosate in Bread

Chemical pollution, Food, ,

A new study shows levels of glyphosate in many types of bread sold in Japan. Glyphosate is the active ingredient in the controversial weed-killer Roundup, and also in other herbicides. It is used in the US and Canada on wheat fields just before the harvest (wheat is not genetically modified). This method is called pre-harvest and farmers are supposed to follow guidelines to avoid excess residue levels in food.

The study showed no residue levels in bread made with Japanese wheat, but Japan is only producing 14% of all the wheat consumed in the country. The study was made by Japan Family Farmers Movement (Nouminren) and the results published also on the internet here. “We are really concerned about this result because most of the school food served in Japan includes bread made with imported wheat. This is our greatest cause of worry,” says Koketsu Michiyo, Secretary General of Consumers Union of Japan. Residue of glyphosate was also found in several types of wheat flour and pasta flour made with imported wheat.

Nationwide Chinese Consumer Study: 46.7% of Respondents Negative View on GM Food

Biotechnology, Chemical pollution, Food, ,

China has reached a decision point as to whether it should accept, reject, or go slow with the use of genetically modified (GM) technology to produce the food and feed needed to sustain its population growth and economic renaissance. Here, we report a consumer survey on GM food that includes input from all provinces in China. Chinese consumers were surveyed for their awareness, knowledge, and opinion on GM food. The survey resulted in 11.9, 41.4, and 46.7% of respondents having a positive, neutral, or negative view on GM food, respectively.

Genetically modified (GM) technology is a highly controversial topic for today’s global food consumer. The commercial development of GM crops began in 1996 with GM corn and has expanded every year with the cultivation of GM crops.

Chinese food safety scandals have been a growing concern for Chinese consumers in recent years. The incidences of illegal “gutter oil” used in cooking, pesticide residue contamination, use of feed additives and polluted water along the food chain are common problems and even with proper regulatory oversight, the risk for criminal activity is ever present. The consumers in China, as well as consumers in other parts of the world, are increasingly risk adverse and seek out “clean, natural food”.

Public perception of genetically-modified (GM) food: A Nationwide Chinese Consumer Study

npj Science of Food 2, Article number: 10 (2018)

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41538-018-0018-4

Please Stop Selling Wheat Flour with Glyphosate Residue

Chemical pollution, Corporate Responsibility, Food, ,

17 January 2019

 

To:

Nisshin Foods

Nisshin Seifun Group

Showa Sangyo

 

Please stop selling wheat flour with glyphosate residue

Consumers Union of Japan and the No! GMO Campaign work together for safe and healthy food for all consumers.

We tested wheat flour from different companies for the residue of the herbicide glyphosate, and detected such residue in products sold by your company.

In 2015, WHO’s International Cancer Research Institute has concluded that glyphosate is “probably carcinogenic to humans.” In 2016, a joint report by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN said that there was some evidence of association between glyphosate exposure and risk of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in some studies.

Our investigation found levels of residue of glyphosate in your wheat flour that was lower than the standard limit set by the Japanese government. However, studies in other countries have shown negative health effects in test animals even at such low levels.

Consumers do not want to be exposed to glyphosate. We do not want to buy or eat food made with such products. We ask that you use the precautionary principle and please stop using wheat which has been treated with glyphosate.

Consumers Union of Japan                    No! GMO Campaign

Keisuke Amagasa                                        Keisuke Amagasa

Kazuoki Oono