Key Laws and Regulations

Food Sanitation Act

•  Purpose and Scope: The Food Sanitation Act is a law established in South Korea to ensure food safety and protect consumers. This law regulates hygiene and safety in all processes of food production, processing, distribution, and sale, aiming to protect public health and consumer rights.

• Major Provisions: Key provisions of the Food Sanitation Act include regulations on ingredient labeling, hygiene management requirements, expiration date labeling regulations, and regulations on the use of food additives. These provisions play a vital role in guaranteeing consumers safe and hygienic products.

Health Functional Food Act

• Definition of Health Functional Food: The Health Functional Food Act is a law that regulates products claiming to have specific health functions or benefits. This law is crucial in securing transparent and reliable information for consumers when consuming health functional foods.

• Certification Standards: The Health Functional Food Act sets standards that require a product's manufacturing, efficacy, and safety to be recognized for certification. This ensures that health functional foods are safe and effective when advertised or sold to consumers.

Special Act on the Safety Management of Imported Foods

• Purpose: The Special Act on the Safety Management of Imported Foods is a law enacted to enhance the safety of food imported from overseas. This law focuses on protecting the health of domestic consumers and promoting the safe distribution of imported foods.

• Scope: This law applies to all food imported from abroad and includes measures such as quality supervision, hygiene inspections, and compliance with standards throughout the import process.

• Key Contents: o Strengthening Import Procedures: Regulating enhanced import procedures and inspection processes to ensure the safety and quality of imported products.

• Compliance with Labeling Regulations: Enhancing regulations on product packaging and labeling to ensure consumers understand product information clearly.
• Inventory Traceability: Strengthening the management and traceability of imported food in distribution to promptly address potential issues.

• The Special Act on the Safety Management of Imported Foods plays a crucial role in protecting domestic consumers by ensuring they can consume safe and reliable imported foods while maintaining the quality and safety of imported products.

Regulations on Genetically Modified Foods

Genetically modified foods refer to products created by manipulating genes using biological technology to exhibit specific characteristics or traits. Regulations on genetically modified foods focus significantly on ensuring the safety of these products, environmental impacts, and protecting consumer rights. Key Contents:

1. Safety Evaluation: Genetically modified foods must undergo safety evaluations before being released as food products. This process includes assessing the impact on human health and environmental effects of the product.
2. Product Labeling: Genetically modified foods must be appropriately labeled. The product labeling should clearly indicate that the product is genetically modified.
3. Compliance with Regulations: Manufacturers must comply with domestic and international regulations on genetically modified foods. This encompasses various regulations related to the production, sale, and import/export of the products.

Organic Certification of Agricultural Products Law

The Organic Certification of Agricultural Products Law is legislation concerning the certification and regulation of organic farming products, aimed at promoting sustainable agriculture considering environmental protection and consumer health. This law sets standards and procedures for the production, processing, and distribution of organic products to provide consumers with safe and reliable products. Key Contents:

1. Organic Farming Definition: The law clearly defines organic farming products and the criteria for classification as organic. Organic products refer to items produced using only organic substances without the use of chemical fertilizers or synthetic pesticides.
2. Certification Process: Organic products must be verified by certification bodies, meeting specific criteria and procedures for certification. This mainly involves checks on organic farming methods, raw material cultivation, processing, and packaging methods.
3. Labeling Regulations: Certified organic products must inform consumers of their organic certification through labeling. This information should be prominently displayed on the product labels.

The Consumer Basic Law

The Consumer Basic Law safeguards consumer rights and interests and regulates relationships between consumers and businesses. Its primary objective is to safeguard consumer safety and interests, maintain fair market competition, and provide consumers with better services and products. Key Contents:

1. Quality and Safety: Businesses must ensure products and services guarantee consumer safety and offer high-quality products for safe usage.
2. Information Provision: Companies must provide accurate product information to enable consumers to make informed decisions.
3. Compliance and Compensation: In case of infringements on consumer rights, businesses are obligated to provide fair compensation to consumers.
4. Prohibition of Unfair Trades: The Consumer Basic Law prohibits unfair trade practices and includes regulations to enforce compliance through fines.
5. Right to Litigation: Consumer Basic Law guarantees consumers the right to assert their rights under the law through litigation avenues. The Consumer Basic Law plays a crucial role in protecting consumer rights, promoting fair trade practices, and providing consumers with a safe and trustworthy consumer environment, continuously evolving to meet consumer needs and expectations.