New South Korean Food Regulations: Starting from 2024, 259 Types of Processed Foods Will Have Nutrition Labels, Caffeine and Sugar Alcohol Warnings Upgraded, and New Regulations for Defrosting Frozen Foods!

On August 9, 2024, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) of South Korea announced plans to expand the scope of food nutrition labels to cover all processed foods. The initiative includes the following key points:

(1) Nutrition labels will be extended to all processed foods. Currently, only 182 types of food are required to indicate nutrient information such as calories, sodium, sugar, fat, and protein. Under the new plan, an additional 30 types of food, including ice cubes, chewing gum, and tea bags, will be added, bringing the total number of processed foods covered by nutrition labels to 259;

(2) The scope of the high caffeine content label will be expanded from liquid foods to solid foods. Starting from 2026, all foods containing guarana and with caffeine content exceeding 0.15mg/kg must display a high caffeine warning label and the total caffeine content;

(3) The scope of the sugar alcohol caution label will be expanded to include all products whose main ingredient is sugar alcohol and whose content is 10% or higher. These products should clearly indicate the type and content of sugar alcohol and display the "Sugar Alcohol" label. The warning statement should be clearly displayed near the material name marking line and stand out against the background color;

(4) For individually packaged frozen foods such as ice cream, the requirement to label "Do not defrost and refreeze after defrosting" will no longer apply.