Pet food standards are set by the Ministerial Ordinance on Component Standards of Pet Feed (愛玩動物用飼料の成分規格等に関する省令). The manufacturing-method standards (製造方法の基準) define what must not be used or done during manufacture:
Raw materials in general (原料全般): raw materials that contain harmful substances or are contaminated by pathogenic microorganisms, or are suspected of either, must not be used (有害な物質を含み、若しくは病原微生物により汚染され、又はこれらの疑いがある原材料を用いてはならない).
Harmful microorganisms in general (有害微生物全般): when heating or drying, use a method with efficacy sufficient to remove microorganisms that derive from the raw materials and are capable of growing (加熱し、又は乾燥する場合は、原材料等に由来し、かつ、発育し得る微生物を除去するのに十分な効力を有する方法で行うこと).
Additives (添加物): propylene glycol (プロピレングリコール) must not be used for cat food (猫用には用いてはならない).
MAFF cautions:
- Harmful microbes multiply not only in the process but also during storage when wetted by condensation (保管中の結露等水にぬれたりすることでも繁殖するため、十分に注意が必要).
- Pet health damage from Salmonella etc. attributed to pet food is occasionally reported (ペットフードが原因と考えられるサルモネラ菌等によるペットの健康被害がまれに報告される).
- Wild deer/boar meat under shipment restriction based on the Nuclear Disaster Special Measures Act (原子力災害対策特別措置法) counts as a "raw material suspected of containing harmful substances" (有害な物質を含む疑いがある原材料) — refrain from using it in pet food.