(1) Reasons for Proposal

As the contents that nutritional ingredients or raw materials in standard foods (hereinafter referred to as “foods with function claims”) other than health functional foods can help improve body tissues and functions may be displayed and advertised as the contents determined and announced by the Minister of Food and Drug Safety, this amendment aims to regulate foods with function claims as subject to voluntary reviews; strengthen the system to protect consumers from labels and advertisements that are confused with health functional foods by reinforcing the criteria of administrative disposition for cases of labeling or advertising a food to mislead consumers into believing that the food is a health functional food; allow Korean labeling information to be omitted for foods, etc., imported for use in research and investigation; allow even health functional foods to provide information on labeling information using barcodes, etc.; and otherwise improve and supplement some of shortcomings that have emerged during the operation of the current system

(2) Major Provisions

A. Reinforce management for foods with function claims (Articles 10 and 15 and attached Table 7) 

1) As the contents that nutritional ingredients or raw materials in standard foods other than health functional foods can help improve body tissues and functions may be labeled and advertised as the contents determined and announced by the Minister of Food and Drug Safety, a system is needed to prevent damage to consumers due to labels and advertisements that are confused with health functional foods.

2) Add foods with function claims as subject to voluntary reviews, add foods with function claims that have problems with safety and functionality due to inadequate functional content among the requirements for functional foods as subject to recall and disposal, and reinforce the criteria for administrative disposition for the case of labeling or advertising food to mislead consumers into believing that the food is a health functional food

B. Allow even health functional foods to provide information on labeling information using barcodes, etc., as the Act allows foods and livestock products to be provided with information on labeling items using barcodes, etc.(attached Table 1) 

C. Since, in principle, the Act requires foods, etc., to be labeled in Korean, but for the products that are not directly purchased by consumers, such as used as raw materials for food manufacturing and processing, Korean labeling may be omitted, clearly stipulate that Korean labeling may be omitted even for foods, etc., imported for research and investigation that are not provided to consumers (attached Table 3)