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South Korea Consults on Food Code: Introducing the Standards of Meat Alternative and FSMP

MFDS drafted out the meat alternatives’ standard, new types of foods for special medical purposes (FSMP), and proposed to optimize the management scheme of contaminants and pesticide residues.

Updates on August 31, 2023:

The amendments of MFDS Notice No. 2022-576 are officially released in Food Code. The manufacturing standards for four kinds of meat alternative products are introduced. (Details here).


On December 22, 2022, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) released two exposure drafts for public opinion: MFDS Notice No. 2022-5751 and MFDS Notice No. 2022-5762.

MFDS Notice No. 2022-5751 mainly proposed to optimize the management scheme of contaminants and pesticide residues. MFDS Notice No. 2022-5762 drafted out the meat alternatives’ standard, new types of foods for special medical purposes (FSMP). The consulting periods for both drafts are set to end on February 20, 2023.

The proposed amendments are as below:

1. New Standard of Meat Alternatives (Proposed in MFDS Notice No. 2022-576

To guide the industry in safely manufacturing meat alternatives, an emerging hot food item in the market, Korean authority drafted out the definition, manufacturing requirements, and labeling standards of meat alternatives.

“Meat alternatives” refer to foods manufactured with plant-derived raw materials, microorganisms, edible insects, or cell cultures, etc., in place of animal-derived raw materials, whose shape, taste, and texture are similar to those of the edible fats (excluding edible plant oil), processed and packaged meat, processed egg products, processed milk products, processed fishery products, or other edible meat/egg products.

The specifications of meat alternatives are also proposed:

Acid value

less than 5.0   (applicable to fried foods)

Peroxide value

Less than 60   (applicable to fried foods)

Bacterial count

n=5, c=0, m=0   (applicable to sterilized foods)

Escherichia   coli

n=5, c=1, m=0,   M=10 (applicable to pasteurized foods)

Coliforms 

n=5, c=1, m=0, M=10 (applicable to non-pasteurized foods that can be   eaten directly without processing or heating)

*Terms of “n, c, m, M” used in microorganism specifications refer to:

  • n: The number of test samples;

  • c: The maximum number of samples allowed; the number of samples exceeding “m” but not more than “M”; if the number of samples that exceed “m” but not more than "M” is not more than “c”, the results can be confirmed;

  • m: The allowable limit of microorganisms; if all samples are not more than “m”, the result can be confirmed;

  • M: The maximum limit of microorganisms allowed; if one or more samples exceed M, the results should not be confirmed.

Additionally, the manufacturing methods of alternatives of sausage, fermented milk, processed fishery products, and dried meat are individually specified in the exposure draft. 

2. New Types of Foods for Special Medical Purpose (FSMP) (Proposed in MFDS Notice No. 2022-576)

The standards and specifications of “nutritional formulas for hypertension patients (고혈압환자용 영양조제식품)”, meal-type dietary management foods for hypertension patients (고혈압환자용 식단형식품), as well as water and electrolytes supplements (수분 및 전해질보충용 조제식품) are proposed in the exposure draft. 

New FSMP Types

Manufacturing Standards

(1) Nutritional formulas for hypertension patients

Sodium: less   than 800mg per 1,000kcal

Calcium: more than 1,100mg per 1,000kcal

Dietary fibre: more than 11g per   1,000kcal

Calories derived from fats: 15~30% of   the total calories

Calories derived from saturated fat:   less than 7% of the total calories

(2) Meal-type dietary management foods for hypertension patients 

Sodium: less   than 800 mg

Calcium: more than 700 mg

Dietary fibre: more than 7g

Calories derived from fats: 15~30% of   the total calories

Calories derived from saturated fat:   less than 7% of the total calories

(3) Water and electrolytes   supplements 

 

Glucose: 13.3~20.0 g per 1 L(kg)

Sodium: 1.4~2.1 g per 1 L(kg)

The concentration ratio of glucose and sodium water: 1:1~2:1

Calcium: 0.6~1.0 g

Chlorine: 1.8~2.8 g

Citric acid: 1.6~2.4 g

Osmotic pressure: 200~310 mOsm/L

(The standard shall also apply to or   foods to be taken after dissolving in water or dilution following the   suggested intake methods. In this case, the solution or diluted food shall   follow the above requirements.)

3. Maximum Residual Limits (Proposed in MFDS Notice No. 2022-575)

(1)    The “Maximum Residual Limits (MRLs) for residual substances in livestock and fishery products” are integrated into the “Maximum Residual Limits for Pesticides”.

(2)    The MRLs for pesticides registered under Pesticide Control Act3 and imported pesticides are proposed to be updated.

(3)    The residual limits for three veterinary drugs are modified. 

(4)    Obscure legal provisions are to be clarified.  

To access the latest requirements for pesticide MRLs information, please refer to New Pesticide MRLs Information Platform4.

4. Other Proposed Modifications

(1) The inorganic arsenic in brown rice is newly limited to be no more than 0.35 mg/kg.

(2) The legal grounds for manufacturing non-heated foods for the elderly are added.

(3) The erucic acid (C22:1) in the rape seed oil’s final products shall not exceed 2%.

(4) Deep ocean sea salt is recategorized as “other salt”.

(5) The requirements for clostridium perfringens in raw foods are modified as “n=5, c=2, m=100, M=1,000”.

(6) Cypermethrin’s MRLs are amended.

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