Foods with Function Claims now exceed 10,000 | How to read notification numbers

At convenience stores and drugstores alike, “Foods with Function Claims” is a phrase you see almost every day.

How many are there?

A cumulative total of over 10,000

In the Consumer Affairs Agency’s notification database, as of April 2026, a cumulative total of 10,780 notifications had been published.

The system began in 2015. In just over 10 years, it has reached the tens of thousands.

Do not confuse the three systems

Japan has three types of “Foods with Health Claims.” If you remember them separately, the way you see store shelves changes.

• Foods for Specified Health Uses (Tokuho) ―― A national permission system. The government reviews and permits each item individually
• Foods with Nutrient Function Claims ―― A standards-based system. Claims can be displayed if they meet government-set standards for vitamins, minerals, and the like
• Foods with Function Claims ―― A notification system. Businesses compile the evidence under their own responsibility and submit a notification to the Consumer Affairs Agency

Foods with Function Claims are not products that the government has reviewed and “approved.” This is the point most easily misunderstood in this system.

So what is good about it?

It is that “anyone can read the evidence.”

The package always has a notification number printed on it. When you search that number in the Consumer Affairs Agency database, the following information appears as-is.

• Evidence for functionality (whether it is a clinical trial or a research review)
• The approach to safety
• Production and quality control systems
• Systems for collecting information on health damage

It is not about whether you believe the advertising; you can go and look at the original materials. That is a fairly strong system.

The system has been reviewed

Following the 2024 incident, the notification system has been reviewed. Mandatory reporting of health damage information, Manufacturing management in line with good manufacturing practice standards, Clarification of labeling rules and other measures.

For details, see “What has changed about Foods with Function Claims?” explains it.

This village’s stance

Value Village began as a place for cosmetics, but health foods will also sit on the same shelves.

At that time, we will make it a rule to write first “which system this product belongs to”.

Rather than making big claims about effects, we believe that making clear what a product is based on will ultimately become trust.

References: Consumer Affairs Agency, “Foods with Function Claims System Notification Database”; Consumer Affairs Agency, “Foods with Health Claims System”

※This article introduces the system and is not intended to claim the effects of any specific product, nor to diagnose, treat, or prevent disease.

—The Value Village Editorial Team