*Calculated as planned number, which include total planned number of sales of products with consideration for health from FY 2021 to FY 2030, and expected number of participants in our health promotion and nutrition education activities as number reached (persons)
※1 Products listed in 「topics: Product design with consideration for health issues」
※2 Morinaga Milk Industry's own consumer survey.
"health contribution image" is 15% in FY2021.
※3 Target of Morinagamilk group (including overseas offices)
Through its business, Morinaga Milk Group provides "Health value" and "Tastiness and Delightfulness" with consideration for the global environment and people, to contribute to "ever brighter smiles" and "a prosperous society."
Through products and services that make use of advanced milk technology, our raw milk base in Japan, and ingredients unique to Morinaga Milk, we will contribute to "healthy growth" and "extending healthy longevity."
We will continue to provide products and services that leverage unique functional materials such as Bifidobacteria and Lactoferrin, as well as our wealth of nutritional knowledge gained through many years of research and development.
We will cross consumer needs with our seeds, will define the "health value" that we intend to strengthen as +5 areas of product provision + educational activities, and will promote creation of value (development of services, products, and research) in each area.
|
→ | Nutrition essential for maintaining life (Examples: Infant formula, Enteral Nutrition Foods, etc.) |
|
→ | Emphasize nutritional fortification on label (Examples: Protein fortification, calcium fortification, iron fortification, etc.) |
|
→ | Emphasize nutrients or that there is no or low calories (Examples: Low sugar, low fat, low salt, etc.) |
|
→ | Products that contain functional ingredients and that condition the body (excluding brain functions) (Examples: Measures to address lifestyle habits, improvement of bowel movements, health management, etc.) |
|
→ | Products that contain functional ingredients and that condition brain functions (Examples: Measures to address memory, stress relieve, etc.) |
Morinaga Milk Group has defined five domains of wellness and supplies products and services in line with our Health Strengthening Map with the aim of contributing to help grow healthy and extend the healthy expectancy of people.
Net sales in FY 2022 in the five domains of wellness, with a focus on marketing Active Nutrition (On) and Physical Conditioning, increased 1.1-fold compared to FY 2021.
・Domestic Products
Morinaga Caldus Milk
Bifidus yogurt Measures to address bone density Drink-type
Greek Yogurt PARTHENO Zero Fat Free from Plain Sugar
Refreshing Oligo
・Overseas Products
CLIMEAL NUTRITION DRINK – VANILLA FLAVOR
Morinaga Zero Fat Drink Yogurt Less Sugar
Morinaga Zero Fat Yogurt Less Sugar
morigro
We are developing plant-based products to meet the growing health consciousness and diversifying needs of our customers.
Plants & Me Sugar-free and Plants & Me Original were certified with the Vegan Mark by VegeProject Japan.
Overseas, where there is a high demand for plant-based products, the plant-based foods manufacturing company Turtle Island Foods, Holdings, Inc. based in the United States became our subsidiary in FY 2022, with the view to expanding the range of plant-based products.
We will continue meeting a broad scope of needs by providing both deliciousness and pleasurable food and health and nutrition.
Plants & Me Sugar-free
Plants & Me Original
Morinaga Milk’s bifidobacteria has obtained Halal and Kosher certification. Such certification is an important deciding factor for people of these faiths, and to supply products that customers of Islamic and Jewish faiths can enjoy with peace of mind, we continue to pay close attention to and coordinate production processes as well as manufacturing processes such that we are able to maintain our certification as a company.
Health needs continue to expand on a global scale, and Morinaga Milk Group delivers deliciousness and health to consumers overseas to meet and build on these needs through business operations including MILEI that manufactures and sells dairy product ingredients, our infant and toddler milk business in Asia, the bacteria product business, the plant-based foods business in North America, and business operations in Vietnam that center on Elovi.
To deliver deliciousness and health, certification is being acquired in each country and concerted efforts are being made to contribute to local communities.
Morinaga Milk Group complies with the laws and standards related to food safety in each country as it develops its product lineup.
・Acquired GRAS (*) certification in America
GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) was obtained for two types Bifidobacteria MCC1274 (Bifidobacterium breve MCC1274)
and Bifidobacteria M-63 (Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis M-63) in 2022.
Acquisition of GRAS means products have been assessed as being generally safe for as food ingredients in the United States, with both Bifidobacterium breve MCC1274 and Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis M-63 approved for use as general foods in the country.
(*) A Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) designation is a requirement for all new food ingredients sold in the United States, and undergo expert assessments covering items that include the characteristics of raw materials, manufacturing processes, quality control, product specifications, records of use, and clinical trial results. GRAS certification is required when selling food ingredients in the United States.
・Registration of New Food Ingredient in China
In August 2024, Bifidobacterium infantis M-63 was registered(*) as a new food ingredient under the system required for selling food ingredients in China that are not part of China’s traditional food culture. For a food ingredient to be registered as a new food ingredient, in addition to having the property of a food ingredient, that food ingredient must meet certain requirement in terms of nutrition, health, and safety. This registration certifies that Bifidobacterium infantis M-63 meets the required specifications. Morinaga Milk’s Bifidobacterium infantis M-63, certified for use as an ingredient in infant and toddler foods for children under three years old, is the Company’s third to be approved, following Bifidobacterium breve M-16V and Bifidobacterium longum BB536.
Morinaga Milk is the only Japanese company that has bifidobacteria registered as new food ingredients in China as of August 2024.
(*) This registration applies to use as an ingredient in infant and toddler foods for children under three years of age.
This means Bifidobacterium infantis M-63 can be added to milk and supplements for children under three years of age.
・The combined use of three Bifidobacterium strains, BB536, M-16V, and M-63, was approved by Brazil's ANVISA.
In 2024, Morinaga Milk received approval from the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (ANVISA) to use its three types of bacterial strains, that is, Bifidobacterium longum BB536, Bifidobacterium breve M-16V, and Bifidobacterium infantis M-63, as ingredients combined with other food products.
With this approval, the Company’s three bacterial strains can be used in as ingredients in general food products, which demonstrates that these strains are safe to use in general food products in Brazil.
Morinaga Milk is the only Japanese company that has bifidobacteria approved by ANVISA for use (*). This is the third approval for the use of Bifidobacterium strains following the approval of Bifidobacterium breve M-16V and Bifidobacterium longum BB536 as single strains.
(*) Source: Public announcement on ANVISA's website (as of March 12, 2024).
In 2023, we started to work with international NGO World Vision Japan to launch Smiles & Health for Children, a program to provide meals to kindergarten children to improve the health and nutritional status of children. In the first period of the program (May 2023 to April 2024), the construction of facilities to provide meals with an improved hygiene environment was completed at two kindergartens in the Tuan Giao District, and we contributed them to the Ministry of Education and Training, Vietnam.
In the second period of the program (June 2024 to May 2025), we have newly added three kindergartens to be supported in the same district, expanding our efforts to support a total of six kindergartens. For the three kindergartens assisted in the first period, we will continue to implement monitoring the health and nutritional status of children, and their knowledge and skills on health and nutrition. In collaboration with World Vision Japan starting from the first period, we will participate in the Child Sponsorship Program (Area Development Program) (*) and enhance interaction with childcare at the kindergartens supported in the program, and provide assistance to improve the health and nutrition status of children.
The Tuan Giao District of Dien Bien Province supported by this project is located in a mountainous area around 570 km northwest of the capital Hanoi, and is reported to have a high poverty rate of 50% as well as a high proportion of children suffering from malnutrition. In addition, since there are many children in this business area who are not provided with meals at home, the two daily meals provided at kindergartens constitute their main source of nutrition. However, considering that the hygiene environment of the kindergartens’ cooking facilities and cooking staff’s knowledge on nutrition are said to pose issues, it is required to improve the health and nutrition status of children from the perspectives of both the hygiene-related improvement of cooking facilities and the improvement of nutritional awareness. This initiative has also been recognized as a project commemorating the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Japan and Vietnam.
Morinaga Milk Group has set up manufacturing and sales sites in Vietnam, which is one of the countries where the company is focusing its business efforts. We aim to contribute to resolving health and nutrition challenges in the region, thereby helping to improving the health and nutrition of children.
(*) It is a program addressing local issues such as water sanitation, health and nutrition, and education with the aim of creating an environment where children can grow up healthy.
Vietnamese children eating kindergarten meals
Vietnamese children
Official logo mark for projects commemorating 50th
anniversary of diplomatic relations
between Japan and Vietnam
The Morinaga Milk Group engages in various R&D initiatives in the pursuit of deliciousness and pleasurable food, health and nutrition, and safety and reliability in line with the mission of exploring the great power of milk and making maximum use of its advantages, with the aim of creating a sustainable society and bringing lifestyles full of smiles all around the world.
One of the planned actions in the Medium-Term Business Plan 2022–2024 was to increase the number of R&D Division personnel by around 15% (compared to the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022), so personnel numbers were increased in line with these plans to engage in R&D contributing to health and nutrition.
The Morinaga Milk Group owns many functional ingredients that support health and nutrition.
In addition to cutting-edge research into these functional ingredients, the goal is the development of an extensive range of products and applications that combine functionality with tastiness.
・Research on bifidobacteria
We have been involved in research into bifidobacteria and intestinal flora in the more than half a century since Bifidobacterium longum BB536 was first isolated from a healthy infant.
Our bifidobacteria are praised highly both in Japan and overseas, and more than 440 reports*related research papers have been released to date.
These research results indicate that our bifidobacteria support the health of people of all ages—from infants to the elderly—and help to maintain the health and smiles of people around the world.
* Total number of reports from Morinaga Milk and external institutions, as of March 31, 2024
In recognition of the results of research into bifidobacteria, we earned the following awards in fiscal 2023.
Commendation for Science and Technology by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Award Ceremony Fiscal 2023 (Development Category): Development of manufacturing technology for viable bifidobacteria powder and products that apply this technology.
Commendation for Science and Technology by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Award Ceremony Fiscal 2023 (Development Category)
・Research into lactoferrin
More than 80 years have elapsed since the discovery of lactoferrin, and there are in excess of 10,000 reports(*1) research papers covering lactoferrin.
Of these, the Morinaga Milk Group is a private sector business that has released the most papers on lactoferrin(*2) in the world.
Morinaga Milk is coordinating efforts with external specialists and municipalities to conduct ongoing tests for ingesting lactoferrin in a safer and more reliable way, in addition to obtaining data on why it is beneficial to humans. We will build on this research to develop with the utmost confidence products that are available for anyone.
*1 10,190 reports found when searching on Pubmed (search keyword: Lactoferrin, period: from 1960 to August 2024)
*2 Searching on SCOPUS provided by Elsevier with the search keyword “lactoferrin” (as of August 2024)
To support people's smiles and health, Morinaga Milk closely aligns itself to community issues and makes efforts toward joint research with universities, companies, and local governments.
Since 2014, we have engaged in an initiative to verify the health effects of functional ingredients including lactoferrin, bifidobacteria, and peptides through a system of collaboration among industry, academia, government, and the private sector in the city of Matsumoto and its surrounding area, with the aim of developing world-class original materials.
In 2021, we signed a comprehensive partnership agreement with the Matsumoto municipal government on health promotion and regional revitalization through food. We will further expand the scope of the partnership from past research activities for health promotion, and will undertake solutions to regional issues and the promotion of regional industries by utilizing Morinaga Milk's products and services.
・Collaboration examples
FY2022: | [Learning through eating] Cooperation with Matsumoto City Dietary Habit Promoters’ 40th anniversary project Online tour to Matsumoto Plant, Publication of a memorial recipe collection (some of the recipes were published in Mamie Clan, Morinaga Milk’s magazine about home-delivery service) |
FY2023: | [Child-rearing support] Collaborating with Matsumoto City and Matsumoto City Hospital to hold events and citizen's seminars for child-rearing support |
FY2024: | [Regional cooperation] Information transmission on the fruits of research conducted by local business sites and shops in the Matsumoto area. |
Let us continue to cooperate with Matsumoto City, aiming to achieve coexistence with the community.
Morinaga Milk believes that, as it is people who create society, contributing to people's health is an important mission of ours. As such, we believe in particular that our company must be involved in efforts to extend healthy life expectancy and in support for the growth of the next generation.
Angel 110 Hotline online event to commemorate the number of consultations exceeding one million
KidZania Tokyo, Koshien and Fukuoka
As an official sponsor of KidZania, Morinaga Milk exhibits the Milk House pavilion at KidZania Tokyo, Koshien and Fukuoka.
The Milk House pavilion gives children the portunity to experience work as a milk food marketer in charge of planning and developing products to encourage their interest in milk and dairy products.
KidZania Hanoi
Since fiscal 2023, Morinaga Milk has exhibited the Dairy Cafe pavilion at KidZania Hanoi as an official sponsor. At the Dairy Cafe pavilion, children can experience working as “Yogurt Experts,” where they create nutritious and delicious recipes using Morinaga Milk’s yogurt. We aim to encourage children to deepen their understanding of dairy products and take interest in health through enjoying planning delicious products in their work experience.
Pavilion at KidZania Tokyo
Pavilion at KidZania Hanoi
Pavilion at KidZania Hanoi
Morinaga Milk will continue collaborating and cooperating with communities as we aim to nurture the qualities and capabilities needed for creators of the future and to prepare environments to support their activity.
※1 Target of Morinagamilk group (including overseas offices)
Under our Quality Policy, Morinaga Milk Group provides customers with safety and reliability through assured quality control and outstanding technology.
In addition to the FSSC22000 international standard scheme for food safety management systems, we operate systems that identify key quality control points to comprehensively manage food safety and quality. To provide products that customers can use with peace of mind, we set and comply with standards that exceed those of the industry, in every process from product development to distribution and sales.
The Quality Assurance Committee has been established as a body for enhancing the corporate governance structure by deliberating on and approving basic company-wide policy and important measures related to quality assurance.
The Quality Assurance Committee is chaired by the President and Representative Director and is held twice a year to strategically resolve key quality issues, and to clarify and discuss the operation of the Quality Policy and standards.
Details of matters discussed by the Quality Assurance Committee are reported to the Board of Directors.
Based on its Quality Policy, the Morinaga Milk Group regulates Quality Rules for each stage of the food supply chain: 1. Product development; 2. Raw material procurement; 3. Production; and 4. Distribution/sales.
In order to systematically control quality based on these Quality Rules, Morinaga Milk ensures the safety and quality of all products it handles.
1.Product development
Ensuring safety and quality from the product develop and design stage through to risk management is of the utmost priority.
Every time we develop new materials and containers, or attempt to master new manufacturing techniques, we carefully verify products to ensure their quality and safety.
2.Raw material procurement
3.Production
4.Distribution/sales
Morinaga Milk appoints quality control personnel to each storage and logistics center, as well as sales warehouses, to ensure that quality control is properly conducted during the logistics stages.
Additionally, we establish quality rules for maintaining quality in the distribution stages, which include temperature control of products, maintenance of warehouses, handling and transportation of stored goods, and provide guidance and education to employees and other parties involved in each stage of distribution.
Related links
Food Safety & Quality
Morinaga Milk has established the Customer Service Center for receiving inquiries and comments from customers.
Feedback and requests that we receive are disclosed on the homepage as part of efforts to provide customers with peace of mind with our products and services.
Related links
Customer Service Center
Morinaga Milk Group makes efforts toward occupational safety and health to maintain an environment that protects quality. In accordance with our Basic Policy on Occupational Health and Safety, we engage in health and safety education, identification and evaluation of dangerous areas, and activities to reduce or eliminate these, with the goal of zero work-related accidents.
In 2002, we opened Morinaga Milk College, where we provide employees with education on quality under on the belief that it is people who create quality.
By thoroughly preventing quality-related issues and their recurrence, we will continue to achieve high quality.
Basic Policy on Health and Safety
Respect for human rights and diversity Topic: Human resource development
Morinaga Milk conducts business with many suppliers, both for the procurement of various raw materials such as ingredients, containers, and packaging, and for the handling of the logistics of raw materials and goods. In order to deliver high-quality, safe, reliable, delicious, and worthwhile products to consumers, Morinaga Milk ensures that business partners know the Morinaga Milk Group Procurement Policy (indicated above) with a view to securing their understanding and cooperation, and to ensuring a mutual exchange of information that strengthens collaboration.
This exchange includes quality assurance certificates and packing material standards for raw materials suppliers, information about the raw materials used (ingredient ratios, source materials, country of origin, allergens, genetic modifications, the presence or absence of food additives, etc.), the safety of container and packaging materials, safety in use, compliance with legal standards (e.g., compliance with residual agricultural chemicals standards), the status of quality control in the supplier’s manufacturing processes, etc.
Morinaga Milk holds a Quality Improvement Seminar with suppliers of raw materials once a year. This provides an opportunity for mutual communication while sharing information on understanding the quality assurance system and initiatives for maintaining and upgrading the quality of raw materials and their containers and packaging and for improving the hygiene environment.
Positive communication with suppliers is important for a supply of high-quality raw materials. As a method of communication, the Morinaga Milk Group carries out document reviews and conducts quality audits at supplier plants.
Business partners understand the Morinaga Milk Group Quality Policy and cooperate to carry out quality audits for food safety and quality issues from a variety of perspectives, such as managing for foreign substances, allergens, etc. When an issue arises, the Group works with mutual understanding to reach a solution in order to ensure a continued supply of reliable, safe high-quality raw materials.
For raw material imports from Europe, Oceania, or other locations, the Group conducts audits for local plants overseas the same way as in Japan as needed (plant visits, remote audits, document checks, etc.). Although it is sometimes difficult to require overseas business partners to maintain the same quality control levels as in Japan, by carefully explaining the Morinaga Milk Group’s Quality Policy to overseas business partners and gaining their understanding, the Group has built both a domestic and international procurement system for high-quality raw materials.
There were no significant risk incidents in FY 2023.