Overview
This English translation of Japan’s Ministerial Ordinance on Milk and Milk Products defines milk-product categories, compositional requirements, manufacturing standards, testing methods, and container/package specifications. Its heavy-metal content is concentrated in food-contact container and packaging specifications rather than finished-food occurrence limits.
Key numbers
| Topic | Source value |
|---|---|
| Ordinance date | Ministry of Health and Welfare Ordinance No. 52, 1951-12-27 |
| PDF metadata date | 2007-08-31 |
| Formulated milk powder definition | Product made from raw milk, cow’s milk, special cow’s milk, or principal raw materials from them, with necessary nutrients for infants added and then reduced to powder |
| Formulated milk powder composition | Milk solids content minimum 50.0%; moisture not more than 5.0% |
| Container/package heavy-metals test | Heavy metals are tested using 4% acetic acid elution and a lead-standard color comparison in the specified packaging sections |
| Glass/plastic packaging residue on evaporation | Not more than 15 ppm in the cited container/package specification section |
| Potassium permanganate consumption | Not more than 5 ppm in the cited container/package specification section |
The PDF includes arsenic and heavy-metals tests for several container/package material types and cadmium/lead tests for polyethylene terephthalate and related food-contact areas. The extracted text did not provide a single finished-food Pb, Cd, or As maximum level for infant formula powder comparable to Codex/EU/FDA food-contaminant MLs.
Methods (brief)
This is a regulatory translation, not a laboratory occurrence study. It contains detailed chemical test procedures for milk, milk products, and food-contact containers/packages. For heavy metals in packaging, the text uses 4% acetic acid elution and lead-standard color comparison; for arsenic, it references the Arsenic Test Method in the general food-additives test methods.
Implications
Certification: The source is packaging and milk-standard context only. It does not provide a finished-food HMTc threshold.
Courses: Useful for explaining the distinction between food contaminant limits and food-contact packaging specifications.
App: Limited direct use; possible Japan jurisdiction context for dairy and formula packaging.
Microbiome: No direct microbiome endpoint.
Wiki pages updated on ingest
- Japan MHLW milk and milk-product standards
- Infant Formula Powder
- Liquid milk — cow
- Milk powders (whole, skim, specialty)
Verification notes
- Ingested from
raw/regulatoryon 2026-08-03. - The source page deliberately avoids claiming finished-food heavy-metal MLs because the extracted heavy-metal provisions found in the PDF are packaging/material tests.
Update history
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