Korea to Revise Meat Processing and Ingredient Standard

On April 21, 2015, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety of Korea (MFDS) announced the revision of the meat processing standard and meat processing ingredient specifications. Under the revision the following changes will be apply:

1. The requirements for raw materials used in meat products have been further identified. Meat products that are out of date or of poor quality are prohibited from being used as raw materials.

2. The limitations on clostridium perfringens in natural cheese and processed cheese have been established. The original specification “n=5, c=0, m=0/25g” has been changed to “n=5, c=2, m=10, M=100”.

3. The scope for raw materials of processed meat products has been expanded from meat to meat and processed meat products.

4. The definitions of seasoned meat and chopped meat have been revised. Offal processed using heat processing can be used in the production of chopped meat products.