South Korea Proposes Significant Amendments to Food Additive Code

On July 22, 2025, South Korea Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced full revision draft of the Food Additive Code, which revamps the food additive classification framework and eases the use restrictions for certain substances. Industry stakeholders are invited to submit opinions by September 21, 2025.

Key proposed amendments are summarized as below:

Restructuring of food additive classification system

In the current Food Additive Code, food additives are classified by use into 32 types. To align with international regulatory practice, the draft proposes to categorize food additives into five categories including general food additives, processing aids, nutrient fortifiers, mixed preparations, and disinfectants for utensils. Among these,

General food additives are subdivided by use into 24 types

sweetener, anti-caking agent, defoaming agent, gum base, flour treatment agent, color retention agent, preservative, propellant, acidity regulator, antioxidant, humectant, stabilizer, emulsifier, coagulant, gelling agent, thickener, color, filling gas, leavening agent, bleaching agent, surface treatment agent, coating agent, flavor enhancer, flavoring

Processing aids are subdivided by use into 7 types

sanitizers, filtration aids, release agents, manufacturing solvent, boiler water treatment agents, extraction solvents, and enzyme preparations

Compliance requirements for pesticides and radioactive contamination

The draft clarifies that compliance for pesticide residues and radioactivity in food additives shall comply with Section 3, General Standards and Specifications for Foods in Chapter 2 of the Food Code.

Modification of general standards and specifications

The draft clearly outlines the general manufacturing standards, general usage standards, as well as general preservation and distribution standards applicable to all food additives. To enhance readability and organization, it restructures and reformats certain sections—for example, food additives permitted for use in infant formulas, currently listed under Section II.5.3 of the current Food Additive Code, are proposed to be integrated into the general usage standards. Notably, these structural adjustments do not introduce substantive changes to the core content.

Amendments to the item-by-item usage standards

1) Restructure of the framework for item-by-item usage Standards

The draft introduces a dedicated Section III for item-by-item usage standards. This section features both common standards and item-specific standards for each of the five food additive categories. The common standards are derived from the general usage standards of the current Food Additive Code, tailored to the requirements of each additive category. In total, this section covers 474 items of general food additives, 94 items of processing aids, 162 items of nutrient fortifiers, 9 items of mixed preparations, and 13 items of disinfectants for utensils.

2) Revisions to usage standards for certain food additives

Currently, seven nutrient fortifiers (including Vitamin K1, Vitamin K2, Chromium Chloride, Manganese Gluconate, Zinc Gluconate, Zinc Sulfate, Sodium Ferrous Citrate) are restricted to specific food categories. For example, Vitamin K1, Vitamin K2 and Sodium Ferrous Citrate can only be used in health functional foods and foods for special medical purposes. The draft proposes to lift these restrictions, allowing their use in all foods (except infant formulas, which have separate additive requirements) at the minimum amount required to achieve their intended effect. This proposed amendment aims to meet growing consumer demand for nutrition-enhanced foods.

In addition, to reflect internationally recognized technological functions, the draft proposes expanding the permitted uses of certain food additives. For example, Vitamin B2, which is currently limited to use as a nutrient fortifier, would also be allowed as a color additive. Similarly, Magnesium Oxide would be permitted not only as a nutrient fortifier but also as an anti-caking agent and acidity regulator.

3) Relaxation of usage standard for modified hop extract

Under current regulations, modified hop extract is only permitted as a flavor enhancer in beer and is not allowed in non-alcoholic beer, where only untreated hops can be used. However, untreated hops are prone to oxidation and off-flavors when exposed to light, which limits product packaging to brown bottles or cans to avoid light exposure. To address these industry challenges, the draft proposes to allow the use of light-stable modified hop extract not only in beer but also in other barley-based alcoholic beverages and barley-based carbonated beverages.

4) International harmonization of composition/specifications for enzyme preparations

The draft proposes to update the specification of 39 enzyme products by specifying their reaction mechanisms, reaction products, international classification numbers (EC No.) and synonyms. This amendment aims to help stakeholders more easily verify whether a particular enzyme is permitted for use in Korea, thereby improving regulatory clarity and operational efficiency within the industry. In addition, the Diastase is proposed to be integrated into β-amylase.

Example of updated specification of enzyme preparation

Item Name

Synonyms

Definition

International Classification No.

Usage standard

α-Glucosidase

Maltase; α-Glucoside hydrolase; α-1,4-Glucosidase; α-D-Glucoside glucohydrolase

An enzyme preparation derived from Aspergillus niger cultures. Diluents and stabilizers may be added to adjust potency and maintain quality. This enzyme produces glucose by cleaving α-D-glucosidic bonds from the non-reducing ends of maltose or oligosaccharides.

EC No.: 3.2.1.20

Section II.2.1) Minimum amount required to achieve intended effectiveness.