Korean Food Labeling and Advertising Act

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety released “Food and Other Labels and Advertisements Act” on March 13. The Act stipulates that from March 2019, the contents of food labels and advertisements will be subject to new standards. Standards and requirements articulated within the Food Sanitation Act, Functional Foods Health Act and Livestock Products Sanitary Control Act are integrated.

The act mainly is divided into 4 main parts including:

1. Consolidate and Clarify Food Labeling Requirements

Currently Korea uses multiple legal references to specify labeling and advertising standards which are articulated within the Food Sanitation Act, Functional Foods for Health Act and Livestock Products Sanitary Control Act. This patchwork of disparate legal reference points is a major source of confusion for manufacturers.

2. Expand the scope of prohibited labeling and advertising

New requirements related to permitted and prohibited terminology and graphical representations used in labeling and advertising are clearly specified.

3. Requirement to substantiate and support label and advertising content

Evidence (testing documents, manufacturing certification etc.) will be required during retail and other related activities to support labeling and advertising content.

4. Voluntary review instead of preliminary review

The current preliminary review process established by the Health Functional Food Act and the Food Sanitation Act is abolished and replaced by a voluntary review process.