South Korea Has Issued a Partial Revision Of The Implementation Rules For The Special Law On The Management Of Imported Food Safety, Which Involves Assessing The Health Of Animal-Based Foods For Import

On June 14, 2024, the South Korean government officially promulgated the 1962nd Prime Minister's Order, making prudent and meticulous revisions to parts of the "Special Act on Imported Food Safety Management Enforcement Regulation". This revision mainly covers the following key aspects:

1. In terms of terminology revision, the original expression of "Sanitary Evaluation of Imported Livestock Products, etc." has been updated to "Sanitary Assessment of Imported Livestock Products and Animal-Derived Foods". This highlights the importance the South Korean government places on the health and safety management of imported animal-derived foods, aiming to further enhance the regulatory efficiency in this area.

2. Regarding the inspection measures for overseas direct-shipped foods, the South Korean government not only requires verification of whether they contain prohibited ingredients, but also has added provisions for comprehensive inspection through physicochemical and microbiological means. Meanwhile, it also requires in-depth investigation into the characteristics of the buyers, usage patterns, and consumer injury cases of overseas direct-shipped foods. These measures aim to strengthen the supervision of imported foods through online shopping channels, ensuring the effective protection of consumer rights.

3. To comprehensively grasp the circulation and consumption status of overseas direct-shipped foods, the South Korean government has also conducted a survey on the current situation in terms of buyers' gender, age, purchase frequency and motivation, product types and quantities, as well as damage cases. This initiative is intended to provide more accurate data support for government decision-making, further optimizing the import food regulatory strategy.

4. In risk management, the South Korean government has adopted a differentiated regulatory strategy. For high-quality imported food enterprises or raw materials that have had an average of more than five import records per year over the past three years without any problems, the South Korean government will exempt them from document and on-site inspections. This measure aims to encourage quality enterprises to maintain good import records, while reducing regulatory costs and improving regulatory efficiency.

In summary, this revision fully demonstrates the determination and efforts of the South Korean government in strengthening the health and safety control of imported foods, especially animal-derived foods. In the future, Chinese food companies exporting to South Korea should closely follow and comply with the relevant regulatory requirements to ensure that their products meet South Korean standards, thus promoting the healthy development of bilateral trade.