Morinaga Bioscience, Inc

Morinaga Institute of Biological Science, Inc.(MIoBS) is a member of Morinaga & Co, Ltd.(Morinaga group). We are focusing on developing the reagents for food safety and laboratory animals, utilizing immunoassay techniques as ELISA, Western blotting and Lateral Flow device. We are also responsible for analysis for food safety, quality control and hygiene assurance in Morinaga group. As a result of the recent increase in global interest in food allergies, regulations about the labeling of foods that contain allergens have been coming into effect in Japan since April 2001. Twenty-seven items3) have been designated for labeling and the Food Sanitation Act mandates that seven of those items (eggs, milk, wheat, buckwheat, peanut, shrimp, and crab) be listed in the ingredients. We used our exclusive immunoassay technology to begin selling ELISA kits for allergen testing (5 items) before the rest of the world in April 2002, and the kits were designated as official testing methods by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare in November of the same year. In 2005, we began selling FASPEK allergen testing kits that allow users to measure quantities in processed foods using an extract developed exclusively by MIoBS. That same year, the kits were designated as validated and accurate test kits by the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare, and many Japanese public testing agencies, analysis agencies, and food companies use them to this day. Then, recognizing the sophistication of the technology, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) designated the wheat kit5) as the official testing method for gluten-free foods.