Ingredients allowed in food

Under the SPECIAL ACT ON IMPORTED FOOD SAFETY CONTROL (수입식품안전관리 특별법), a business entity that intends to import food for the purpose of sale or for the purpose of using them for business shall file an import declaration of the imported food with the Minister of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS). Customs officials check whether the document has been issued during the import customs clearance of food.

In the import declaration of food, not only the basic information about the importer, manufacturer, and shipment but also the ingredients and manufacturing processes shall be specified.

If the ingredients don’t conform to the Korean Food Code (식품의 기준 및 규격), the import declaration of food shall not be accepted. So, it is important to confirm in advance whether all the ingredients are approved ones. Besides, there are food ingredients for which usable parts are also specified.




Ingredients which can be used in food are listed in Annex 1 to 3 of the Korean Food Code.

   Annex 1 Ingredients Approved for Use in Food

   Annex 2 Ingredients Approved for Limited Use in Food

   Annex 3 Ingredients Converted from Temporary Standards and Specifications

 

In the import declaration of food, an ingredient is input through the designated ingredient code, which can be found in the MFDS imported food information website: https://impfood.mfds.go.kr/CFCJJ01F01



If you can’t find the valid (사용가능) ingredient code, you should look closely into the ingredient - whether it is approved or not. Because all the importers in Korea use the same code and, if it is not searched, it has never been imported – very likely to be unapproved ingredient.


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