South Korea to Revise Food Standards and Specifications

South Korea is set to amend the requirements on “Food Standards and Specifications” as articulated in a draft release set for imminent promulgation:

The main changes are detailed as follows:

• Requirements for food raw materials to be included in “the Food Code” shall be further defined

• MRLs for pesticides shall be reviewed in correspondence with the expansion of application scope of pesticides in “the Pesticide Management Act”. 32 pesticide MRLs will be either revised or added.

• The application scope of lythidathion will be expanded to ginseng and MRL requirements will be added.

• MRLs for pesticides applied to livestock feed will be revised.

• For cypermethrin which is used both as a pesticide and veterinary drug, the MRL of cypermethrin as a veterinary drug will be added while that as a pesticide will be removed.

• The designated application scope for five veterinary drugs including novobiocin, ormetoprim, oxolinic acid, oleandomycin and zoalene will be changed from “meat” to “muscle”.

• General experimental methods will be revised. Analytical methods for four pesticide residue including Ipfencarbazone, tefuryltrione, triafamone and imazapyr will be newly added.

• Physical and chemical methods will be added for the qualitative determination of veterinary drugs.

• Quantitative determination methods for aminoglycosides including gentamicin, penicillin including amoxicillin in foods as well as tetracyclines in honey products will be revised.