South Korea Revises Food Labeling Standards, Requires Disclosure of Net Content Changes

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety recently issued an important regulatory revision aimed at strengthening the management of the Labeling Standard for food and other products to better protect the rights and interests of consumers. The core content of this revision is that when the net content of a commodity is reduced, but the unit price is increased, manufacturers must clearly mark this change on the product label to ensure that consumers' right to know and choice are not infringed. The move reflects the South Korean government's emphasis on consumer protection and strong commitment to fair competition in the food market.

The amendments also include a clearer definition of food for infants and young children, stipulating that common foods should be labeled as "baby food" to meet the special needs of this particular consumer group. In addition, the naming rules for mixed edible oil products have also been relaxed to allow the use of raw material names to improve the transparency of product information. For frozen food, the new standard specifies the labeling requirements for re-processing into frozen products after thawing, in order to prevent consumers from misunderstanding during use.

In the management of alcohol products, the revised standard requires the caloric information of alcohol to be labeled in a larger font and a more prominent way to help consumers understand its caloric content more clearly. At the same time, clear regulations have been made on the color price content labeling of natural pigments to ensure that consumers have a deeper understanding of the use of food additives.

In order to align with international standards, Korea has also revised some provisions to make them more harmonized with the Codex Alimentarius and the Codex Food Additives. These amendments not only improve the standardization of Korean food labels, but also provide consumers with more comprehensive and accurate food information.

This revision is an important upgrade in the management of Korean food labels, which will help improve the transparency and credibility of consumers' food information, further protect the rights and interests of consumers, and will also promote the development of the Korean food industry to a more fair and transparent direction. This not only has a profound impact on domestic consumers in South Korea, but also provides a worthy example for global food labeling management.