Our employee cafeteria menu has received the highest rank of three stars in the Smart Meal certification
– an initiative aimed at reducing the percentage of employees with metabolic syndrome and anemia.
August 27, 2024
ROHTO Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture; President: Masafumi Sugimoto) has long promoted activities to promote employee health based on the belief that "only when employees themselves are healthy can they provide good products and services to the world."
We are pleased to announce that the menu served at our head office cafeteria (meals provided by Shidax Contract Food Service Co., Ltd.) has received the highest rank of three stars (standard: solid) in the "Healthy Eating and Dining Environment (commonly known as Smart Meal)" certification. We will continue to engage in various activities to promote the health of our employees.
About Rohto Pharmaceutical's health and productivity management
In 2021, we established health indicators for 2023. By clearly defining eight indicators that form the foundation of health, we have been promoting health and productivity management with the aim of enabling each employee to review their daily life and take initiative toward achieving well-being.
Of the eight indicators, the "percentage of people diagnosed with metabolic syndrome (metabolic syndrome diagnosis + pre-metabolic syndrome diagnosis)" and the "percentage of people diagnosed with anemia (women) *1" showed significant deviations from the target values. We considered these to be one of the issues that needed to be addressed intensively, and have been repeatedly considering new menu items to be offered at the head office cafeteria.
*1: Anemia is defined as a hemoglobin level of less than 12.0 g/dl.
reference: We are pleased to announce the launch of "TokoChalle 2024 Sleep+", a company-wide initiative to improve health and productivity management progress, exercise habits, and sleep, starting in Spring 2024.
New initiatives at the head office cafeteria
Our company, in collaboration with Shidax Contract Food Service Co., Ltd., which provides meals for our head office cafeteria, has been working on developing health-conscious menus. We have now revamped our menu in February 2024 and started offering two types of set meals: "Good Lunch" and "Tetsuchan Lunch."
Aiming to reduce the percentage of people with metabolic syndrome, "Iikoto Lunch" has cleared certification standards such as low salt content and including 70g or more of vegetables, and on August 1, 2024, it received the highest rank of three stars (criterion: substantial) in Smart Meal certification. In addition, to supplement iron intake, we offer "Tetsu-chan Lunch," which always contains 5mg or more of iron, as well as rice made with iron-fortified rice.
Improvement in hemoglobin levels was confirmed in efficacy measurements for individuals with anemia.
We measured the changes in hemoglobin levels of 24 volunteer female employees immediately after the introduction of the new menu (March 2024) and three months later (June 2024) *2. Of the 13 employees whose hemoglobin levels were below the standard value of 12.0 g/dl in March, an improvement in hemoglobin levels was observed in all of them three months later. We believe that the conscious selection of "Tetsuchan Lunch" and the consumption of iron-fortified rice played a significant role.
*2 Estimated hemoglobin value by near-infrared spectroscopy imaging.
What is Smart Meal Certification?
"Smart Meal" is the common name for nutritionally balanced meals containing elements that contribute to health, promoted by the Healthy Eating and Food Environment Consortium. Based on the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's "Guidelines for Meals Provided for the Purpose of Preventing Lifestyle-Related Diseases and Other Health Promotion" (September 2015), the certification system is based on two standards: "Chanto" (meaning "proper"), which focuses on nutritional balance mainly for women, and "Shikkari" (meaning "firm"), which balances nutritional balance with satisfaction. One star is awarded for meeting the mandatory items in either standard, and more stars are awarded for achieving more optional items (two stars for achieving 5 items, and three stars for achieving 10 or more items).
Smart Meal Certification System Homepage