Other physicochemical testing

The Food Sanitation Laboratory conducts inspections on farmed seafood, chicken eggs, etc. based on the inspection of residual harmful substances in livestock and marine products notified by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

Antibiotics are an antibacterial agent produced by microorganisms and suppresses the growth of other microorganisms. It generally works on a limited type of bacteria, but recently, resistant bacteria that do not work with antibiotics have been generated, and their use has become a problem. On the other hand, synthetic antibacterial agent is a chemically synthesized antibacterial agent.
Antibiotics and synthetic antibacterial agents are used as pharmaceuticals and feed additives for livestock products and marine products for the purpose of treating, preventing and promoting growth. In order to prevent eating livestock and marine products using these, the Food Sanitation Law sets residual standards for antibiotics and synthetic antibacterial agents for each food category.
The Food Sanitation Inspection Office inspects the items in the table below.

In addition to antibacterial agents, there are drugs used as pharmaceuticals in livestock products and marine products.
The Food Sanitation Inspection Office inspects the items in the table below.

In recent years, a wide variety of chemical substances have been produced and used as a result of the development of chemical and industrial technologies. As a result, we have made it possible to create a comfortable living environment. On the other hand, the chemical substances flow into rivers and the sea, polluting the seafood that lives there, and chemicals used in the food manufacturing process are mixed into the food. There has been a problem that enters the mouth.
In addition, chemical substances that have been produced and used in the past are not decomposed in nature, but are stored in the organs and tissues of seafood, and eating them may affect human health .
The Food Sanitation Inspection Center conducts inspections for the following items.

Mercury is used as a catalyst in chemical factories, etc., and is used in sphygmomanometers and thermometers.
In the past, Minamata disease and the Agano River mercury poisoning incident that occurred in the past, inorganic mercury, which was contained in wastewater from chemical factories, flowed into rivers and the sea, and organic mercury (methyl mercury) by the action of bacteria in the mud at the bottom of the water and the bottom of the water. ), accumulates and concentrates in fish, causing poisoning by eating it by humans.
Poisoning symptoms include central nervous system disorders such as limb paralysis, language impairment, and impaired vision.

Manufacturing was discontinued in 1972, but until then it was used in transformer capacitors, pressure-sensitive paper, paints, lubricating oil, etc., and a total of about 57,000 tons were produced.
PCB poisoning symptoms in the Kanemi oil case have been reported as poor vision, acne-like rash, hepatoma size, and increased triglycerides.
Samples collected at the Food Sanitation Laboratory are sent to Yokohama City Inst. of Health for inspection.

Eating foods that contain high concentrations of histamine causes food poisoning that causes allergic reactions such as hives and itching.
Histamine is made from hisstidine, one of the essential amino acids, by the action of bacterial enzymes.
Therefore, blue fish (saba, saury, saury, sardines, horse mackerel, etc.) and lean fish (tuna, swordfish, skipjack, etc.) and red fish (tuna, swordfish, bonito, etc.) and these processed products have been frequently reported as causes of food poisoning.
Histamine does not decompose by cooking, so it does not disappear when boiled or baked. Therefore, in order to prevent food poisoning due to histamine, it is necessary to prevent histamine from being produced. In other words, it is important to heat it sufficiently before the bacteria grow, or to store it at a temperature where bacteria do not grow.
At present, fish are often refrigerated or frozen immediately after they are caught, so in the case of sashimi that do not heat before eating, leave them on the table after purchase or leave them on the table after purchase. Putting at room temperature can cause food poisoning.
For foods to be heated, temperature control is important, such as not leaving it at room temperature before and after processing, such as filling in seasoning liquids before heating or pickled in seasoning liquid.