Space Food

Overview of the Certification Standard

A Japanese space food (curry ramen) and a window of the Japanese Experiment Module "Kibo"

To be certified as Japanese space foods, products should satisfy the certification standard.

Foods to be used on the ISS should meet the requirements (e.g. long preservation, resistance to flight and microgravity stresses, etc.) stipulated in the "ISS Food Plan," standard document for space food supply to the ISS.

Moreover, since products are produced in Japan, they should meet the food safety standards in Japan. The Japanese space food certification standard has been set up based on this condition.

Outline of the Japanese space food certification standard

• Manufacturing equipment should be located in Japan.
• Manufacturing equipment should be managed in the procedures described in the HACCP^※1 or equivalent methods.
• Inspections of hygiene (e.g. bacteria inspections).
• Inspections of nutritiveness (analysis of nutritive ingredients).
• Quality inspections (water activity, viscosity, depressurization/pressurization test and freezing/heat proof test).
• Preservativeness test (real-time or accelerated test for 18 months).
• Sensory tests (evaluation of color, smell, flavor, texture and appearance).
• Other inspections and tests (off-gas test, on-site inspection, preparation conformity test, maintenance of five years of production, and other specific tests necessary for each product).

※1 Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point.

(Images below are provided by JAXA/NASA unless otherwise specified.)