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For Our Customers: Taste! Delight! Vigor!
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At Hikari Miso, in order to deliver to our customers a high quality product that they can eat with peace of mind, we have strengthened our quality assurance systems in every process, from the arrival of ingredients to the manufacture of the miso packaging and processed foods such as our instant miso soup.
As one part of this, we have completed certification with ISO 9001, an internationally-recognized quality management system.
Furthermore, in 2005 we also completed certification with ISO 22000, a standardized food quality safety management system, as well as with the draft stage of DIS 22000.
Also, to enable our customers to discover when and where the raw ingredients of our products (soybeans and rice) were cultivated, we are currently developing traceability system.
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| Philosophy |
In appreciation of nature’s bounty, and out of our belief that the customer is our number one priority, we have made it our corporate mission to offer a product that contributes to a dependable, delicious, and healthy diet.
Accordingly, we have set progressive environmental conservation initiatives as one of the foremost concerns of our business administration. Through the efficient use of raw materials and resources and the prevention of environmental pollution, we strive continuously towards becoming a better corporate citizen.
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| Quality Policy |
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Trained in both mind and body, and prompted by our professional expertise and technical mastery, we shall achieve our objective of high quality.
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To realize our ambition of product safety, our quality management system and food safety management systems shall operate efficiently and as planned.
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In striving to achieve our quality goals, we establish the following points as key management goals: (1) Realization of high quality standards (2) Complaint reduction (3) Cost reduction |
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Genetically Modified Soybeans
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| At Hikari Miso, We Do Not Use Genetically Modified Soybeans |
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The soybeans used at Hikari Miso fall into the three following categories
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Domestic Soybeans
Genetically modified soybeans varieties are not cultivated in Japan. |
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Organic Soybeans
The soybeans used by our company are all JAS certified organic soybeans. Under JAS standards, genetically modified products are prohibited. |
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Imported Miso Soybeans from America, Canada, and China etc.
We control these soybeans particularly rigorously, in order to prevent the intermingling of genetically modified soybeans. |
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Supplier Selection
Collection and sorting factories are limited to those which handle only non-genetically modified food-grade soybeans. By undertaking onsite checks, we maintain rigorous standards in our choice of suppliers. |
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Designation of Variety
By acquiring and appraising a wide range of soybean samples, we cultivate select varieties of non-genetically modified soybeans suited to the manufacture of miso.
Furthermore, we are also involved in partnering with seed development companies to introduce new varieties. |
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Direct Shipping System
As part of our management method for non-genetically modified produce, we generally employ an IP (Identity Preserved) Handling system.
IP Handling systems verify that each stage in the production and distribution cycle, from overseas farms to Japanese food producers, has been managed to prevent mixing. As proof of this, products handled through such a system are affixed with a certificate.
However, even using an IP Handling system, it is impossible to say that there is no accidental mixing at the distribution stages.
Consequently, our company employs a direct shipment system whereby soybeans harvested at our contract farms are packed into containers at the collection and sorting factories, which then go directly to the Green Iijima factory. And even in this case, we require that everything is affixed with the appropriate documents: seed certificates, producer/supplier certificates, container transport verification, and documentation of the distribution channel
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| About Mandatory Labeling of Genetically Modified Foods |
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“Genetically-modified food products” are processed goods that use ingredients made from produce incorporating genes carrying special qualities, such as herbicide tolerance, insect resistance and the like.
While the practical application of genetically-modified technology may enable more efficient farming practices and increases in yield per unit of farmland, there are deep concerns about influence of food products made from these crops on the human body and the environment.
In response to these concerns, Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has required since April, 2001 that all genetically-modified food products be labeled as such.
The requirement targets 28 commodities made with soybeans and corn, including miso.
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JAS Organic Certification
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■What is JAS Organic?
 Have you ever found yourself thinking, “I want to choose a safe, healthy organic food, but it’s so hard choosing from all the options at the grocery store”?
At a time like this, we’d like you to remember this symbol − the JAS Organic Mark.
In April, 2001, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries revised the JAS Law (Law Concerning Standardization and Proper Labeling of Agricultural and Forestry Products), bringing Japan’s inspection and certification system for organic food products in line with international standards.
By law, only organic food products meeting the specified JAS standard for organic produce and processed organic food products may bear the JAS Organic Mark and be labeled as “organic”.
Manufacturers of organic food products wishing to use the mark must first make an application to an accreditation organization registered with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and undergo an examination of their production and management practices.
Only after accreditation by such an organization may food products bearing the JAS Organic Mark be put on the market. |
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Organically Grown Agricultural Produce
Produce grown on cultivated fields that use natural soil-creation techniques, such as composting, and on which the use of chemically-synthesized fertilizers and agricultural chemicals has been avoided for at least two years prior to sowing or planting.
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Organically Grown Agricultural Produce and Processed Foods
So that the distinctive qualities of the organic produce used as ingredients can be preserved during the course of manufacturing and processing, processed organic foods are manufactured without the use of chemically-synthesized food additives and agents.
The proportion of ingredients that consist of organic produce or processed organic food products must be 95% or higher.
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JAS Standard (Japanese Agricultural Standards)
JAS is an abbreviation of “Japanese Agricultural Standard”.
To ensure peace of mind to consumers when they choose products, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has set quality and labeling standards for farmed produce and processed foods. |
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 ■Hikari Miso’s Organic Miso
Hikari Miso has established our track record as an organic miso manufacturer with such accomplishments as our 1997 accreditation by the OCIA (Organic Crop Improvement Association), a private American accreditation organization for organic producers.
We also promptly responded to the inspection and certification systems for organic food products outlined in the revision of the JAS law in 2001, and have received accreditation as a certified organic manufacturer from the Japan Organic and Natural Foods Association (JONA), a registered accreditation organization.
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Hikari Miso is a JAS Certified Product
The Kodawattemasu Series
Organic miso: our main product |
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| Kodawattemasu |
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Kodawattemasu
Komekoshi |
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Kodawattemasu Awase |
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Hikari Miso: Progress Towards Organic Miso
| 1988 |
Released Gankoyasan Miso, using local Nagano Prefecture organic rice and soybeans. |
| 1993 |
Started growing organic soybeans at contracted OCIA member farms in the USA. |
| 1997 |
Acquired U.S. OCIA certification, release of organic agrochemical-free Shinshu-grown miso. |
| 1998 |
Re-launch of Kodawattemasu Miso as a OCIA-certified organic product. |
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Approved as a JAS-certified factory through the Japan Organic and Natural Foods Association. |
| 2003 |
Kodawattemasu Awase and Kodawattemasu Komekoshi released as part of the Kodawattemasu series. |
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| An organically grown soybean field: since no agrochemicals are used, weeds will also grow. |
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Organic Certification in the U.S.
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 In order to have the label “Organic” in domestic Japan, the organic JAS standard must be fulfilled. In the U.S., to have the label “Organic", it also has to fulfill the standard set by NOP (National Organic Program: Uniform U.S. Standard).Products fulfilling the NOP standard are certified and receive the label “USDA (proof by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the products to be organic)”, and they are sold with the label “Organic” within domestic U.S.
Since 1997, our organic products have received certification by the NOP. We manufacture products not only within Japan but also in the U.S., with the special consideration for health and environment alike. |
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