South Korea Revises Food Code: Amendments to Home Meal Replacement and CBD

On October 16, 2020, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) promulgated the revised Food Code by Notice No. 2020-98 ^[1].  The main contents are as follows:　

1. New Food Category: Home Meal Replacement

The sales of Home Meal Replacement (HMR) in South Korea have greatly increased over the past decade. The sales amount was at 0.77 trillion KRW (about 675.3 million USD) in 2010, which boosted to 3.7 trillion won (about 3.2 billion USD) by 2018. ^[2]

The pandemic accelerated the demand for HMR food in South Korea as people cannot go out for dinner. According to data from CJ online mall, the sales of HMR showed a YOY growth rate of 84% from February 24 to March 1 after the COVID19 outbreak in S. Korea this year. ^[3] (Find more about the Impact of COVID-19 on the South Korean Food Sector ^[4].) Due to the consumption increase, MFDS decided to officially set HMR as a new food category and enhance food safety management.