In South Korea, food contact materials and products are regulated by the Food Hygiene Act. Article 8 of the law prohibits the presence or use of toxic/harmful chemical substances in food contact utensils, containers, and packaging, which may pose a threat to human health. The law also directs the Department of Food and Drug Safety (MFDA) to establish standards and specifications for these food contact materials and products.

1. What is KFDA for Korean food contact materials?

The Korean Food and Drug Administration (KFDA), established in 1996, is responsible for ensuring the safety of consumer goods such as food and drugs to ensure citizen health and support the development of the food and drug industry. South Korea implements a pre declaration system for imported food, which can obtain relevant information about imported food in advance and determine whether it needs to undergo import safety assessment. Imported food that has passed inspection and quarantine will be allowed to be imported and an import certificate will be issued; Unqualified imported food will be notified by the local FDA to the applicant and local customs, and measures such as returning, destroying, or changing the use of the batch of food will be taken. After imported food enters the market, local FDA food supervision agencies and local food safety agencies will also conduct random inspections in the circulation field.

In South Korea, food contact materials and products are regulated by the Food Hygiene Law, and are controlled by the Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA). In this standard, the control requirements for food contact materials, including plastics, cellophane, rubber, paper and paperboard, metal, wood, glass, ceramics and enamel, are proposed. In addition, Chapter 3 of the law prohibits the presence or use of toxic/harmful chemicals that may pose a threat to human health in food utensils, containers, and packaging, and instructs the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) to establish standards and regulations for this purpose.

2. The scope of KFDA certification includes:

Export certification of tableware (cups, plates, bowls, knives, forks, spoons, lunch boxes, disposable tableware, tea sets, coffee sets, etc.);

Export certification of kitchen utensils (shovel, bottle opener, egg beater, cutting board, fruit knife, kitchen knife scissors, planer, mixer, etc.);

Export certification of cooking utensils (pressure cookers, bread machines, fryers, steamers, soup pots, hotpots, electric stoves, other cooking utensils, etc.);

Export certification of small household appliances (egg cooker, juice extractor, soybean milk machine, electric kettle, electric cup, microwave oven, oven, water dispenser, electric rice cooker, etc.);

Food grade testing such as export certification of insulated containers (hot water bottles, insulated cups, insulated pots, insulated bottles, insulated barrels, etc.).

3. What are the differences between the new KFDA standards?

Added new language and structure;

Adding polyketones as new materials to the synthetic resin;

Divide synthetic resins with similar structures into nine categories;

The table provides specifications for each type of synthetic resin, rubber, recycled cellulose, paper, metal/alloy, wood, and starch;

Added safety requirements for active and intelligent substances in containers and packaging;

Provide improved methods for recycling polyethylene terephthalate (PET);

The improved test methods for colorants and sulfur dioxide were introduced in detail.

Polyketones are substances that polymerize acetyl and propionyl groups and can be used as antibiotics, antifungal agents, cell stabilizers, or natural insecticides.