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On November 14, 2024, South Korea's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) announced amendments to the Food Code, effective November 15, 2024, with exceptions for maximum residue limits for antimicrobials in livestock, fishery products, and honey, as well as modifications to soybean naming, which will take effect on January 1, 2026.
Key revisions:
Establishment of microbiological standards for food sold in food vending machines (excluding processed food sold as finished products)
1) Hygiene indicator bacteria
Item | Standard |
Bacterial count | n=5, c=2, m=1,000, M=10,000 (applicable to beverages, excluding dairy products, lactic acid bacteria beverages, fermented products, and non-heat-treated fruit/vegetable beverages) |
Escherichia coli | n=5, c=2, m=0, M=10 |
2) Foodborne pathogens
Item | Standard |
Salmonella spp., Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli, Campylobacter jejuni/coli, Yersinia enterocolitica, Vibrio vulnificus, and Vibrio cholerae | Negative Staphylococcus aureus should be ≤ 100/g for foods not subjected to heat treatment or mixed after heat treatment. |
Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Clostridium perfringens | ≤ 100/g |
Bacillus cereus | ≤ 10,000/g |
Revision of Ochratoxin A limits in infant formula products
Target Food | Revised Standard | Previous Standard |
Infant formula, follow-up formula | ≤0.50 (Based on dry weight, applicable only to products containing 25% or more of cereal or other starchy ingredients) | ≤ 0.50 |
The revision exempts infant formula products with low starch content which have a lower risk of ochratoxin A contamination.
Amendment of food ingredient lists
Adding 42 ingredients to Appendix 1, "Ingredients that Can Be Used in Food"
Expanding the use of oak chips for flavoring purposes, provided they are removed before the final products are completed
Allowing the use of flaxseed that has undergone water immersion treatment
Adding rose stem cell culture powder, lucuma powder, golden needle mushroom, and leuconostoc holzapfelii in Appendix 3, "Ingredients with Temporary Standards and Specifications"
Updating ingredient names
Establishment and revision of 104 maximum limits for pesticides in foods
Examples
Pesticide | Food | Updated Maximum Limit (mg/kg) | Previous Maximum Limit (mg/kg) |
Glufosinate | Hops | 0.9 | 0.05 |
Glyphosate | Aralia elata shoots | 0.03 | / |
Novaluron | Chili pepper | 1.5 | 0.7 |
Establishment and revision of veterinary drug residue standards in food
Adding two veterinary drugs strychnine, Carbimazole/Thiamazole as prohibited substances in food.
Introducing the maximum limit for albendazole in fish（0.03 mg/kg）
Establishment and revision of general testing methods
Establishing and revising test methods for pesticide and veterinary drug residues in food.
Clarifying the sampling parts for brown rice, buckwheat, and wheat to prevent confusion during heavy metal testing.
Introducing new test methods for genetically modified foods
Revising the acid value test method in food component testing.
Revising the oxygen content test method for verifying the specifications of various beverages.
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