Our Business Activities and Solutions to Social Issues We Aim For
In Japan, we customarily say that food is as important as medicine for people’s health. Indeed, food and health have always been inextricably related.
Nippon Shinyaku entered the functional food market in 1961 to explore a new business segment, drawing on the original extraction technologies that it had accumulated as a manufacturer of ethical pharmaceutical drugs.
Since the launch of our very first functional food product, the extracted powder spice Kenda, we have made a significant contribution to the processed food industry and society. We have been expanding this business segment consistently toward the goal of “helping people lead healthier, happier lives” through food, earning high reputation and great trust in the food industry.
Our vision says: “Operating within a pharmaceutical company, the Functional Food Division proposes solutions to social challenges, including preventing diseases and pre-symptomatic ill health and ensuring food safety and security, thereby contributing to building a sustainable society.” Under this vision, we will develop products and conduct awareness-raising activities in order to solve social and health challenges through food and realize our management philosophy.
To Prevent Diseases and Pre-symptomatic Ill Health
We are in an era of a “100-year life.” The Japanese super-aged society currently faces the social challenge of extending healthy life expectancy. The Japanese government currently encourages early diagnosis and treatment of diseases, self-medication, and self-care to reduce national healthcare expenditure. Against this background, we are committed not only to conducting basic research but also to gathering scientific evidence of the efficacy of food ingredients that have traditionally been recognized as good for health while adhering to the principle of safety and quality first, which we have cultivated in pharmaceutical manufacturing. We will devote further efforts to developing more nutritious food products and foods with functional claims with the aim of enhancing the QOL of everyone and contributing to solving social challenges with healthy and affordable products.
For Food Safety and Security
General interest in food safety and security has been growing in recent years. In addition, Goal 12 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), “Responsible Consumption and Production,” urgently requires the international community to ensure sustainable consumption and production. As an initiative to respond to these circumstances, we apply the advanced technologies that we have developed in the pharmaceutical field to the control of microorganisms, thereby extending shelf life and preventing food loss. We are therefore committed to providing greater food security and safety in order to help solve the challenges that society has long faced on its path toward a sustainable society.
Food Education Initiatives
We believe that the basis of people’s “healthier, happier lives,” which we aim for, is a healthy dietary habit of taking a sufficient amount of necessary nutrients in a good balance.
However, the recent shifts to nuclear families, fast and easy food, and eating alone have resulted in an increase in the number of people who suffer from nutritional imbalance or do not habitually have breakfast. The issue of skipping breakfast is serious especially for children.
Poor nutrition can not only adversely affect the health of children but also cause serious problems particular to elderly people: frailty*1 and sarcopenia.*2
With the aim of helping solve these serious social issues concerning the health of young and elderly people, we will implement various initiatives to arouse their interest in food and help them adopt healthy eating habits in collaboration with local governments, educational institutions, etc., including conducting food education activities and developing products.
*1: Frailty: State of having the decreased function of keeping one’s own body healthy and being vulnerable to stress
*2: Sarcopenia: Loss of muscle mass and strength and the resulting decrease in overall body functions