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Japanese Standard for Rice Flour

You may have heard of “gluten-free,” but is “non-gluten” new to you?

This page explains what “non-gluten” means as well as the efforts of the Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) to promote it.

Source: Japan Rice Flour Association (English Page) https://komeko-jp.com

Celiac disease, which is more common among Westerners, is a chronic autoimmune disorder triggered by an immune reaction to gluten, a protein found in wheat and related grains. In recent years, global demand has been growing for gluten-free foods intended for people who cannot consume gluten due to this condition.

According to the standards set by the FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration), foods containing less than 20 ppm (parts per million) of gluten can be labeled as gluten-free. In contrast, rice flour contains only about 1/20th of that amount, making it a “non-gluten” food.

In 2017, Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) established a standard for non-gluten rice flour, setting the maximum gluten content at 1 ppm. As a result, rice flour is attracting increasing attention not only overseas—where celiac disease is more prevalent—but also within Japan.

Initiatives by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) has been promoting various measures to expand the demand for rice flour. On March 29, 2017, it published the “Standards for Rice Flour by Usage”—which address processing suitability for different applications such as confectionery, cooking, bread, and noodles—as well as the “Guidelines on Labeling for the Promotion of Rice Flour Products”, which pertain to labeling rice flour products that do not contain gluten.

Utilizing these usage-based standards and labeling guidelines, a wide range of stakeholders—including rice flour manufacturers, producers of rice for raw materials, the food industry, the distribution industry, and the food service industry—came together to form the Japan Rice Flour Association, with the goal of promoting the spread of rice flour through appealing products that leverage its unique characteristics.

Going forward, various initiatives will be carried out to further promote the use of rice flour products.