A food business operator (meaning a person or corporation that is engaged in collecting, producing, importing, processing, cooking, storing, transporting, or selling food or additives, or manufacturing, importing, or selling apparatus, or containers and packages, or a person or corporation that continuously provides food to a large number of persons or unspecified persons at schools, hospitals, or other facilities; the same applies below) must endeavor to ensure the safety of the food, additives, apparatus, or containers and packages that they collect, produce, import, process, cook, store, transport, sell, provide to a large number of persons or unspecified persons, or use for business (referred to below as "food for sale, etc.") on their own responsibility, and endeavor to obtain the knowledge and skills for ensuring the safety of food for sale, etc., ensure the safety of raw materials of food for sale, etc., conduct voluntary inspections of food for sale, etc., and take other necessary measures.
食品等事業者（食品若しくは添加物を採取し、製造し、輸入し、加工し、調理し、貯蔵し、運搬し、若しくは販売すること若しくは器具若しくは容器包装を製造し、輸入し、若しくは販売することを営む人若しくは法人又は学校、病院その他の施設において継続的に不特定若しくは多数の者に食品を供与する人若しくは法人をいう。以下同じ。）は、その採取し、製造し、輸入し、加工し、調理し、貯蔵し、運搬し、販売し、不特定若しくは多数の者に授与し、又は営業上使用する食品、添加物、器具又は容器包装（以下「販売食品等」という。）について、自らの責任においてそれらの安全性を確保するため、販売食品等の安全性の確保に係る知識及び技術の習得、販売食品等の原材料の安全性の確保、販売食品等の自主検査の実施その他の必要な措置を講ずるよう努めなければならない。
A food business operator must endeavor to make a record of necessary information such as the name of the person who has sold food for sale, etc. or raw materials of food for sale, etc. to the food business operator and preserve the record, to the extent necessary for preventing food sanitation hazards resulting from food for sale, etc.
In order to prevent food sanitation hazards resulting from food for sale, etc., a food business operator must endeavor to appropriately and promptly take necessary measures such as providing the record prescribed in the preceding paragraph to the national government or prefectures, etc. and disposing of the food for sale, etc. that caused the food sanitation hazards.
prefectures, etc.
「都道府県等」
A prefecture, a city with a public health center (保健所を設置する市) or a special ward (特別区).
Short name set inArticle 2, paragraph (3)
food for sale, etc.
「販売食品等」
The food, additives, apparatus and containers and packages that a food business operator (食品等事業者) collects, produces, imports, processes, cooks, stores, transports, sells, hands out to many or unspecified people, or uses in its business, whose safety Article 3 asks it to ensure on its own responsibility.
Short name set inArticle 3, paragraph (1)
food business operator
「食品等事業者」
A person or corporation that collects, produces, imports, processes, cooks, stores, transports or sells food or additives, or makes, imports or sells apparatus or containers and packages, as a business, or that continuously provides food to many or unspecified people at a school, hospital or other facility.
Defined inArticle 3, paragraph (1)
food
「食品」
All food and drink, except the pharmaceutical products, quasi-pharmaceutical products and regenerative medicine products defined in the Act on Securing Quality, Efficacy and Safety of Products Including Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices.
Defined inArticle 4, paragraph (1)· applies throughout the law
additives
「添加物」
A substance used in or on food, by adding, mixing, soaking or any other method, in the course of producing food or to process or preserve it.
Defined inArticle 4, paragraph (2)· applies throughout the law
apparatus
「器具」
Tableware, kitchen utensils and other machines, equipment and articles that are used in collecting, producing, processing, cooking, storing, transporting, displaying, handing over or consuming food or additives and that touch the food or additives directly; those used to harvest food in farming and fisheries are not included.
Defined inArticle 4, paragraph (4)· applies throughout the law
containers and packages
「容器包装」
Anything that holds or wraps food or additives and is handed over with them, as it is, when the food or additives change hands.
Defined inArticle 4, paragraph (5)· applies throughout the law