Korea Releases HACCP Guidelines for Food Production Enterprises

On June 5th, 2024, the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) and the Korea Food Safety Management Certification Institute jointly released guidelines for HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) implementation in Korean food production enterprises.

The key elements of the guidelines include:

1. Proper management of the sanitization and rinsing process. Maintaining sanitization efficacy by replacing sanitizing solutions and adding chlorine, and using free chlorine concentration as an indicator to check the effectiveness of sanitization.
2. Causes of Listeria monocytogenes contamination in smoked salmon products, and prevention and control methods. Sanitization method: Double sanitization for 5 minutes each at a free chlorine concentration of 200 ppm.
3. Handling of kimchi ingredients and raw materials, as well as methods to control and prevent yeast contamination. Contaminated "ginger" has been identified as the main source of Yersinia enterocolitica in kimchi. Therefore, ginger can be sanitized using chlorine-based disinfectants (100 ppm free chlorine, 10 minutes), blanching in boiling water (60 seconds), or storing in a 5:1 mixture of garlic and ginger for 24 hours to control microbial growth.

The guidelines aim to provide food producers with practical measures to enhance food safety and hygiene practices in their operations, in line with Korea's ongoing efforts to strengthen its food safety management system. The detailed recommendations on specific product categories and control measures are expected to benefit the Korean food industry in improving their HACCP implementation.