(1) Reasons for Proposal

The current Act prescribes that any business operator who intends to change the location, representative, etc., of his/her business among matters concerning a business license of food etc., shall report such fact to the competent administrative agency. However, the deadline of such report has not been explicitly stipulated by law, causing confusion among operators where grounds for change arise and requiring the said period to be clarified in the Act.

This Amendment also aims to add rest-area restaurant business operators and bakery business operators to the scope of operators eligible for the sanitation grading system, which is currently operated on a voluntary basis, in addition to general food business operators, thereby improving the sanitation level of food service business operators.

Plus, it also seeks to improve upon the standards for administrative disposition concerning the act of using products whose shelf lives have expired and the failure to meet the requirements for preservation and distribution, thereby enhancing the effectiveness and fairness thereof and supplementing certain shortcomings that have arisen from the current system.

(2) Major Provisions

A. Clarify the date by which permission for change, registration, report, etc., concerning business license, etc., shall be made (Article 41 (1) & (3), Article 43, Article 43-3 (1) & (2), Article 46)

Clearly state that a business operator who intends to change matters in his/her food business such as license/registration/report/notification and/or item manufacturing report matters shall notify the competent administrative agency of such fact within seven days from the date of the change, thereby preventing confusion among operators

B. Simplify verification documents, etc., in cases where a business notification for a food service establishment has been filed (Article 42 (2))

Exclude written confirmation of land use plan and building management ledger from verification documents in cases where a person who intends to file a food business notification in a military installation, etc., submits a written permission to use state property as the notified administrative agency need not verify those documents

Clearly state that even for a new building not yet registered in the building ledger, operation of a general restaurant, etc., shall be possible on the condition that an approval of temporary building use has been obtained

C. Expand the scope of businesses eligible for sanitation grading system of food service establishments (Article 61-2 (1))

Include a rest restaurant business operator and bakery business operator to the current list of business operators eligible to apply for designation of sanitation grade system, thereby promoting the use of the sanitation grade system and enhancing the sanitation level of food service establishments

D. Make reasonable improvements to the standards for food manufacturing/processing facilities (attached Table 14)

Prescribe that where a food manufacturer and processor lacks manufacturing/processing facilities, the scope of entrustment shall be all business operators

Expand cases where the same business operator may use the inspection room jointly from the place of business of the same business category to include places of business of functional foods for health, processed livestock products, drugs, etc.

E. Improve administrative disposition standards (attached Table 23)

Secure effectiveness of dispositions by maintaining the duration of suspension of business for a food service establishment that stored a product whose shelf life has ended for cooking purpose at fifteen days and by changing the duration of suspension of business for a food service establishment that used such a product as an ingredient in a cooked food from the current fifteen days to thirty days

Improve the rationality of administrative dispositions by maintaining the duration of suspension of business for a violation of temperature standards at seven days and by changing the administrative disposition for other violations from the current seven day-suspension of business to a corrective order

Improve the fairness and effectiveness of dispositions by changing the disposition for using an animal/plant prohibited from use as an ingredient in food manufacturing/processing, etc., as an ingredient from the current disposition of suspension of manufacturing products for fifteen days and discard relevant products to suspension of manufacturing products for one month and discard of relevant products, which is the same as the disposition standard for violations regarding the use of a non-edible part that is unsuitable for eating as an ingredient