Tag Archives: News

Fresh milk production for fiscal 2014 is predicted to drop 1.5 percent from the previous year to 7.354 million tons, the Japan Dairy Association (J-Milk) announced Thursday, Jan. 23. According to the association’s supply-demand forecasts, demand for domestically-produced milk is expected to stay flat, which means there would be a supply shortage. The association is seriously concerned that demand could slow down due to unstable availability, and stressed the need to work on increasing production. The estimated drop in production reflects the decrease in the number of milk cows. The association says the production might increase by 0.5 to 1 percentage point from the original forecast, supported by government’s supply-boosting … Continue reading →

  National Agriculture and Food Research Organization’s Institute of Fruit Tree Science in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, announced on Tuesday, January 21 that it has developed a new mid-season pink-fleshed apple variety Rose Pearl. The yellow-skinned apple has a moderately acidic flavor and crispy texture. It is suitable both for eating fresh and processing, and the institute says the new variety can be used in various innovative recipes by making use of its pink flesh color, hopefully leading to an increase in apple consumption. Most apple varieties on the market have white or yellowish-white flesh, and there are little varieties with red flesh. Red-fleshed apples are recently attracting attention for use … Continue reading →

  Senior Staff Writer, Masaru Yamada The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries aims to implement strict rules on geographical indications (GIs) to protect the interests of both consumers and producers of high-quality local specialties from counterfeits. According to the bill on GIs which the ministry plans to submit to the ordinary Diet session scheduled to start on Jan. 24, a third-party institution will be established to regularly check products registered as originating in particular regions, and the ministry will take corrective action if misrepresentation cases are found. As the United States has been reluctant to accept the introduction of GIs, the ministry plans to stipulate rules to disclose GI … Continue reading →

  In an effort to expand the use of locally-grown agricultural products in school lunches, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries will offer support and financial assistance to local areas’ initiative to establish a stable supply system in cooperation with farmers. In a related move, the education ministry will conduct scientific research on the educational effects of using local products in school lunches. In its five-year plan to promote food education between fiscal 2011 and 2015, the government set a target of increasing the use of locally-grown products in school lunches to 30 percent or more by fiscal 2015, but the ratio was 25.1 percent in fiscal 2012. Schools … Continue reading →