As the global food industry continues to pursue higher standards today, the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety issued a revised "Labeling Standards of Foods, Etc" on July 24, 2024. This time, it mainly modified the net content and emphasized the labeling requirements of "no sugar" and "no sugar added". Foodmate will introduce you to the main contents of this revision.

• about net content

From January 1, 2025, if the net content of food is reduced, the net content and the fact of the net content change should be marked on the label from the date of change, so that consumers can accurately confirm the net content information when purchasing food, and the information should be marked for more than 3 months. In order to reduce the burden on enterprises, if the enterprise adjusts the export price at the same time, the unit price does not rise, or the net content change is less than 5%, it can be exempted from the mark.

For example:

l Net content 00g (net content change product, 00g → 00g, or 00% reduction)

l Net content 00g (previously net content 00g)

• about "No Sugar" and "Unsweetened"

In response to the increasing number of products on the market that use sweeteners instead of sugar and emphasize "Zero sugar", "no sugar", "unsweetened" and other products, the new regulation requires that the label must indicate both "sweetener" and “energy” around the emphasis claim.

For example:

(Before modification) Zero sugar → (Modified 1) Zero sugar (including sweetener, 000kcal)

(Modified 2) Zero sugar (non-energy reducing product with sweetener)

In addition, the regulation also expands the range of sweeteners that need to be labeled with both name and function, from 5 to 22.

• Energy labeling for alcoholic products

Since January 1, 2026, if alcohol products are labeled with energy, the font should be enlarged and bolded to facilitate consumer identification, prevent excessive drinking, and guide consumers to form healthy drinking habits.

For example:

(Before modification) 360ml(330kcal) → (Modified) 360ml (330kcal)

• Clarify the labelling requirements for baby food

The new regulations also pay special attention to the labeling of food for infants and young children. From 1 January 2026, food intended for infants or young children must be labeled "baby food".