On November 27, 2023, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety of Korea (hereinafter referred to as the "MFDS") published a report entitled "Development of the Guidelines for Labeling of Alternative Food (hereinafter referred to as the "Guidelines") to Support the Development of Food Enterprises". Previously, in August of the same year, the MFDS issued Notice No. 2023-56, which newly added "alternative food" to the Standards and Specifications for Foods, etc., and clearly stipulated the definition, manufacturing and processing standards, specifications, etc. for "alternative food". The Guidelines issued this time stipulated the contents and character size of the labeling of "alternative food" and clarified that such labeling is not considered to be inappropriate indication in contravention of the existing regulations. The Guidelines were established by the MFDS to support the development of a wide range of products by the food-related industry. The followings are a translation of the report:

The MFDS said that it will formulate and publish the Guidelines for Labeling of Alternative Food, which will set out the standards and methods to be observed by operators who mark "alternative foods*" that are similar to animal foods and are made from plant-based raw materials and so on.

*Alternative foods: foods made primarily from plant-based ingredients, microorganisms, edible insects, cell cultures, etc., which are used as substitutes for animal-based ingredients, and are sold with similar appearance, taste, texture, etc. as existing foods.

(1) The scope of application of the Guidelines includes operators who produce, process, import or sub-pack alternative food, and mark it on the container or package.

(2) Matters that must be labeled: ① the word of "alternative food"; ② product name to avoid being misidentified, confused as animal food; ③ whether or not it contains animal raw materials.

(3) The three items that must be labeled for alternative food are specifically required as follows:

The word of "alternative food" should be used more than 14-pound characters;

When the product name emphasizes "animal ingredients" or includes the name of a substitute ingredient, it is permitted to use the names in animal foods such as barbecue meat and hamburger steak. However, in order to avoid misleading, the names of primary products such as "beef", "pork", "milk" and "egg" are not allowed to be used in the names of alternative foods.

＜Indication method of product name＞

l Emphasize the name of the plant-based product ("plant-based" + XXX)

e.g.: plant-based hamburger steak, plant-based barbecue

l Emphasize the name of the substitute raw material ("raw material name" + XXX)

e.g.: hamburger steak made from soy, grilled meat made from soy

l The name excluding name of animal raw materials, name of dishes, etc., and which is not likely to be misidentified or confused by consumers

* Choose one of the above three items and mark it as the product name of alternative food

At the same time, the labeling of "No Animal Ingredients" must be in 12-pound font or larger. However, if sauces or seasonings, etc. used in the production of food contain traces of animal ingredients, it should be marked in the same 12-pound font size as the "No Animal Ingredients".

*e.g.: "Meat free" or "No meat added"/ "Raw material - XX animal ingredient used in XX seasoning"

It is worth noting that only in compliance with the requirements of the Guidelines, exceptions can be made to the use of contents that are prohibited by the improper labeling and advertising regulations in South Korea such as emphasizing the identification of unused raw materials (e.g., MEAT FREE) and the use of the names of other types of foods (e.g., sausage and ham) on the label, and such labeling is not considered to be in violation of the requirements of the improper indication and advertising regulations.

Source: Antion

Note: This article is compiled by Antion. Please indicate the source for reprint.