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Shimadzu Corporation (hereinafter “Shimadzu,” with Head Office at Kyoto, Japan) and the National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (hereinafter “NARO,” with Head Office at Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture) opened the NARO Shimadzu Testing Laboratory (hereinafter “Testing Laboratory”) on March 22 in the Shimadzu Healthcare R&D Center. The collaboration aims to support research and product development by food and beverage manufacturers that contribute to improvements in health. Food and beverage manufacturers interested in collaborating on joint research projects are free to use the program on a month-to-month basis. Starting from March 2023, Kagome Co., Ltd., Hakubaku Co., Ltd., and Morinaga Milk Co., Ltd.are scheduled to use the facilities, in turn, to conduct research and development on their own original themes.
Shimadzu and NARO have been collaborating on joint research into functional ingredients in food products since 2019. In August of that year, the NARO Shimadzu Kyoto Laboratory for Food Innovation (the NARO Shimadzu Laboratory) was established to accumulate scientific evidence on functional ingredients and develop new agricultural products. The two organizations set up the Self-Care Food Council (SCFC), a general incorporated association aimed at establishing and developing systems that lead to long, healthy lives, in 2022. During the first phase of the joint research (April 2019 - March 2022), accomplishments at the NARO Shimadzu Laboratory included the development of analytical methods for catechins in tea leaves. In the second phase (April 2022 - March 2024), which is currently underway, the newly established testing lab will use the data obtained in the first phase to support the research and development of foods and beverages that are beneficial to health and to ensure the swift implementation of the results into daily life.
The laboratory will house researchers from each of the food and beverage manufacturers on a month-by-month basis. Research workers will have access to state-of-the-art analytical measurement equipment, such as the LCMS-8060NX and LCMS-9050 high-performance liquid chromatograph-mass spectrometers for detecting functional ingredients and determining their content, and the GCMS-TQ8040NX gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer for evaluating aroma components. Shimadzu and NARO provide a wealth of experience and technology to support the entire process from analysis planning to implementation. By accumulating the knowledge gained in the laboratory, we will support the development of the next generation of food and beverage research, aiming to create innovative solutions and achieve a long-lived and healthy society through food.

Photos of the NARO Shimadzu Testing Lab
(Left) Nexera Ultra High Performance Liquid Chromatograph,etc 
(Right) GCMS-QP 8040 NX Gas chromatograph Mass Spectrometer

Outline of the NARO Shimadzu Testing Lab