On May 25, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) of South Korea issued Announcement No. 2021-224, which intends to amend part of the "Labeling Standards for Foods". The main contents are as follows:

1. Revision of general rules and some regulations in common labeling standards

1) Improve the general rules and the food categories in the common labeling standards, the quotation clauses of laws and regulations, etc.

2) In order to make it easier for consumers to confirm the label of alcohol contained in non-alcoholic food, improve the labeling method and modify the sentence to distinguish the label from the background color.

3) Modify the labeling method of ready-to-eat food for meals in collective canteens.

2. Revise some regulations on individual matters and labeling standards.

1) In the production process, biscuits, candies, ice cream, etc. made of lactic acid bacteria are added, and an example of the method of labeling the number of lactic acid bacteria is added.

2) Revise the labeling regulations for the nutritional content and net content of cocoa processed products.

3) Addition of the oleic acid content labeling of soybean oil extracted from high oleic soybeans and modification of other labeling items for edible oils and fats.

4) Modify some words and sentences in the date labeling of beverages.

5) Revise the "Food Standards and Specifications" amendments, improve the food categories of special nutritious foods, alcohol, dairy products, and instant foods, and add food labeling items such as special medical purposes.

6) It is clearly stipulated that when the grade labeling of packaged meat (1++ grade produced in Korea), the label including the intramuscular fat content should be clearly marked, and the words and sentences should be modified.

7) Modify some words and sentences in the labeling items of honey.

8) Add edible egg selection industry operators to the mandatory labeling of egg shells. At the same time, according to the "Animal Production Law Enforcement Decree", egg producers whose chicken breeding facilities are less than 10 m2 are excluded from the registration of chicken breeding industry Exceptions are added to the identification of the unique number.

9) Transparent packaging (except vacuum packaging) that confirms the contents through the senses can omit the contents label for natural foods.

3. Revise part of the regulations in the detailed labeling standards for various labeling items.

1) When a food production or processing enterprise entrusts other enterprises to produce and process food due to insufficient production facilities, it shall additionally indicate the entrusted enterprise (the entrusted manufacturer).

2) Revise the words and sentences of other notices in the detailed labeling standards of raw material names.

The deadline for the above comments collection is July 26, 2021.

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