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[Updated]South Korea Revises Enforcement Rule of Act on Labeling and Advertising of Foods

Nutrition fact label is expanded to cover honey, processed animal products, etc. For solid foods containing guarana, the high-caffeine label is a mandatory labeling item. The warning statements for “sugar alcohol” and “do not refreeze” are optimized reasonably.

Editor's Note: The article was published on August 13, 2024, and updated on December 31, 2024.

On December 30, 2024, the MFDS promulgated the revised Enforcement Rule of Act on Labeling and Advertising of Foods. While the revisions exempting ice cubes and ice cream from the "Do Not Refreeze After Thawing" warning take effect immediately, other revisions will come into force on January 1, 2026.

Notably, mandatory nutrition labeling has expanded to cover honey, processed animal foods, etc. It will be implemented gradually based on the sales scale of enterprises, from 2026 to 2028:

  • For businesses with annual sales exceeding KRW 12 billion in 2022, the revised standards will apply to the manufacturing, processing, repackaging, or importing of food products starting January 1, 2026.

  • For businesses with annual sales of KRW 12 billion or less in 2022, the revised standards will take effect starting January 1, 2028.


As revealed by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) on August 8, 2024, the draft of Enforcement Rule of Food Labeling Act1 was issued for public feedback until September 19, 2024. The authority mainly proposes to expand nutrition label to all processed foods, mandate the high-caffeine label for solid foods containing guarana, and intensify the labeling requirements for sugar alcohols and frozen foods. 

1. Expanding nutrition label to all processed foods

Food nutrition label displays the nutrient information of the food product, including the amounts of calories, sodium, carbohydrates, sugars, fats, proteins, trans fats, saturated fats, and cholesterol. To provide citizens with more health information on the foods they consumed, MFDS proposes to expand the application scope of nutrition labels to all processed foods. According to the draft, foods subject to nutrition label are enlarged from the current 182 kinds to 259 kinds. The mandatory nutrition label will be implemented gradually based on enterprises’ sale scales, from 2026 to 2028. Details are as below:

Newly Proposed Foods Subject to Nutrition Label (77 kinds)

  • Ice Cream Mixes (아이스크림믹스)

  • Low-Fat Ice Cream Mixes (지방아이스크림믹스)

  • Ice Milk Mixes (아이스밀크믹스)

  • Sherbet Mixes (샤베트믹스)

  • Nonfat Ice Cream (비유지방아이스크림믹스)

  • Sugar (설탕)

  • Other Sugars (기타설탕)

  • Sugar Syrups (당시럽류)

  • Oligosaccharide (올리고당)

  • Processed Oligosaccharide (올리고당가공품)

  • Glucose (포도당)

  • Fructose (과당)

  • Other Fructose (기타과당)

  • Starch Syrup (물엿)

  • Other Syrup (기타엿)

  • Dextrin (덱스트린)

  • Edible Beef Tallow (식용우지)

  • Edible Lard (식용돈지)

  • Raw Tallow (원료우지)

  • Raw Lard (원료돈지)

  • Fish Oil (어유)

  • Other Animal Fat (기타동물성유지)

  • Imitation Cheese (모조치즈)

  • Other Processed Animal Fat (기타 식용유지가공품)

  • Solid Tea (고형차)

  • Nutritional Formulas for Hypertension Patients (고혈압환자용 영양조제식품)

  • Water And Electrolytes Supplements (수분 및 전해질보충용조제식품)

  • Meal-Type Dietary Management Foods for Hypertension Patients (고혈압환자용 식단형식품)

  • Korean-Style Soy Sauce Made of Korean Traditional Meju (한식메주를 사용한 한식간장)

  • Cheonggukjang (청국장)

  • Curry Powder (카레분)

  • Chili Powder (고춧가루)

  • Chili Thread (실고추)

  • Salted Chinese Cabbage (절임배추)

  • Parboiled Rice (찐쌀)

  • Enzyme Food (효소식품)

  • Processed Ribs (갈비가공품) 

  • Meat Casing (식육케이싱)

  • Meat Meal Kit (식육간편조리세트)

  • Butter Milk (버터유)

  • Concentrated Milk (농축우유)

  • Condensed Skim Milk (탈지농축우유)

  • Sweetened Condensed Milk (가당연유)

  • Sweetened Condensed Skim Milk (가당탈지연유)

  • Processed Condensed Milk가공연유)

  • Milk Cream (유크림)

  • Processed Milk Cream (가공유크림)

  • Butter (버터)

  • Processed Butter (가공버터)

  • Butter Oil (버터오일)

  • Wheys (유청)

  • Concentrated Whey (농축유청)

  • Whey Protein Powder (유청단백분말)

  • 유당)

  • Hydrolyzed Milk Protein Product (유단백가수분해식품)

  • Processed Products Containing Milk (유함유가공품)

  • Agar (한천)

  • Other Processed Animal-Derived Foods (기타동물성가공식품)

  • Processed Insect Products (곤충가공식품)

  • Zara Powder (자라분말)

  • Processed Zara Powder (자라분말제품)

  • Zara Oil Products (자라유제품)

  • Processed Extracts (추출가공식품)

  • Comb Honey (벌집꿀)

  • Honey (벌꿀)

  • Acacia Comb Honey (사양벌집꿀)

  • Acacia Honey (사양벌꿀)

  • Royal Jelly (로열젤리)

  • Royal Jelly Products (로열젤리제품)

  • Processed Pollen (가공화분)

  • Products Containing Pollen (화분함유제품)

  • Raw Food Products (생식제품)

  • Product Containing Raw Food Materials (생식함유제품)

  • Fresh Convenience Foods (신선편의식품)

  • Ready-to-Cook Meal Kits (간편조리세트)

  • Yeast-Based Foods (효모식품)

  • Other Processed Foods (기타가공품)

Nevertheless, the authority also drafts out 30 food types exempted from nutrition labels, such as ice cubes, chewing gums, and other foods of less nutrition. Details are as follows:

Exemptions

Food Type

Foods not for nutrient intake purpose

  • Chewing Gum (추잉껌)

  • Edible Ice Cubes (식용얼음)

  • Ice Cubes for Fishery Industry (어업용얼음)

  • Cloudy Rice Alcohol (탁주)

  • Medicinal Alcohol (약주)

  • Fine Rice Wine(청주)

  • Beer (맥주)

  • Fruit Wine (과실주)

  • Rice Liquor (소주)

  • Whiskey (위스키)

  • Brandy (브랜디)

  • General Distilled Spirit (일반증류주)

  • Liquor (리큐르)

  • Other Alcoholic Drink (기타주류)

  • Ethyl Alcohol (주정)

Foods with less nutrient contents

  • Infused Tea (침출차)

  • Coffee (Roasted Coffee, Instant Coffee, Formulated Coffee Added with Flavors) [커피(볶은커피, 인스턴트커피, 향료만을 첨가한 조제커피)]

  • Diluted Acetic Acid (희석초산)

  • Natural Spices (천연향신료)

  • Solar Salt (천일염)

  • Re-Processed Salt (제재소금)

  • Burden and Molten Salt (태움·용융소금)

  • Refined Salt (정제소금)

  • Other Salt (기타소금)

  • Processed Salt (가공소금)

Foods whose nutrient contents are hard to be standardized

  • Korean Traditional Meju (한식메주)

  • Korean-Style Soy Sauce (한식된장)

  • Kimchi (excluding Cabbage Kimchi) (배추김치를 제외한 김치)

  • Packaged meat (포장육)

  • Other Edible Meat and Other Egg (기타식육 또는 기타알)

2. Mandating High-Caffeine Label for Solid Foods Containing Guarana

To prevent teenagers from excessive caffeine intake from high-caffeine jellies or other snacks, MFDS introduces the requirement to display a high-caffeine warning label on “solid foods containing guarana”, which is currently only applicable to liquid foods.

According to the draft, after the regulation implementation, if guarana is used as an ingredient in the solid food, and the food’s caffeine content exceeds 0.15mg/g, the total caffeine content and a high-caffeine warning should be prominently displayed on the package starting from 2026. More specifically, the three mandatory labeling items are:

  • "High Caffeine Product (고카페인 함유)"

  • "Total Caffeine Content: 000mg (총카페인 함량 000mg) or "Caffeine per Serving: 000mg (1회 섭취량 당 카페인 함량 000mg)”, and

  • "Caution: Not recommended for children, pregnant women, or people sensitive to caffeine (어린이, 임산부 및 카페인에 민감한 사람은 섭취에 주의해 주시기 바랍니다)".

3. Intensifying the Requirements for Sugar Alcohol Labeling

With increasing market demands on lower-calorie products, more manufacturers are using sugar alcohols as sweeteners instead of sugar. However, as overconsumption of sugar alcohols can lead to side effects like diarrhea, MFDS proposes to expand the sugar alcohol warning to any product containing 10% or more sugar alcohols.

The specific types and amounts of the sugar alcohol should be clearly indicated. For example, "Sugar Alcohol (D-Sorbitol 4%, D-Maltitol 10%)". Note, that the sugar alcohols permitted to be used as food additives include “lactitol, mannitol, D-maltitol, D-sorbitol, erythritol, isomalt, xylitol, polyglycerol syrup, maltitol syrup, and D-sorbitol liquid”.

In addition, the warning statement, such as "This product contains sugar alcohols. Excessive consumption may cause diarrhea. (당알코올 함유제품으로 과량 섭취 시 설사를 일으킬 수 있습니다)”, should be displayed near the ingredient list and differentiated with a contrasting background color.  

4. Exempting of the  "Do Not Refreeze After Thawing" Warning for Frozen Foods Consumed in Frozen State

Currently, frozen food products are required to display a warning stating "Do not refreeze after thawing (이미 냉동되었으니 해동 후 다시 냉동하지 마십시오)." However, for ice cubes, ice creams and other foods consumed in their frozen state, no thawing process is needed. Therefore, these products are to be exempted from this warning.

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