G/SPS/N/KOR/675  
 
3 February 2020  
(20-0823) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures  Original: English  
 
  
NOTIFICATION  
1. Notifying Member:  REPUBLIC OF KOREA  
If applicable, name of local government involved:   
2. Agency responsible:  The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety  
3. Products covered (provide tariff item number(s) as specified in national 
schedules deposited with the WTO; ICS numbers should be provided in addition, 
where applicable):  Health Functional Food Products  
4. Regions or countries likely to be affected, to the extent relevant or practicable : 
[X] All trading partners   
[ ] Specific regions or countries:   
5. Title of the notified document:  Proposed Draft Amendments to the "Standards and 
Specification for Health Functional Foods"  Language(s):  Korean  Number of pages:  144 
https://members.wto.org/crnattachments/2020/SPS/KOR/20_0802_00_x.pdf  
6. Description of content:  The proposed amendments seek to:  
1. Clarify the phrase of regulation  
2. Remove the range of "content of functional compounds (or marker compounds)"  
3. Revise the prerequisite for making health functional food using "propolis extracts"  
4. Revise the warning notices fo r intake of "Saw palmetto fruit extracts"  
5. Add new accreditation content for "Chitooligosaccharide"  
6. Revise the document for easy understanding  
7. Reflect the changes of "Food Code" and "Food Additives Code"  
8. Revise the testing methods (chitosan, phosphatidicolin in phospholipid, etc.)  
7. Objective and rationale: [X]  food safety, [  ] animal health, [  ] plant protection, 
[ ] protect humans from animal/plant pest or disease, [  ] protect territory from 
other damage from pests.  
8. Is there a relevant international standard? If so, identify the standard:  
[ ] Codex Alimentarius Commission (e.g.  title or serial number of Codex 
standard or related text) :  
[ ] World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) (e.g.  Terrestrial or Aquatic 
Animal Health Cod e, chapter number) :  
[ ] International Plant Protection Convention (e.g.  ISPM number) :  
[X] None  
Does this proposed regulation conform to the relevant international standard?  
[ ] Yes   [  ] No 
If no, describe, whenever possible, how and why it deviates fro m the 
international standard:   G/SPS/N/KOR/675  
 
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  9. Other relevant documents and language(s) in which these are available:  
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety Advance Notice No. 2020 -39, 31 January 2020 
(available  in Korean)  
10. Proposed date of adoption (dd/mm/yy) : To be determined  
Proposed date of publication (dd/mm/yy) : To be determined  
11. Proposed date of entry into force: [  ] Six months from date of publication , 
and/or  (dd/mm/yy) : To be determined  
[ ] Trade facilitating measure   
12. Final date for comments: [X]  Sixty days from the date of circulation of the 
notification and/or (dd/mm/yy) : 3 April 2020  
Agency or authority designated to handle comments: [  ] National Notification 
Authority, [X]  National Enquiry  Point. Address, fax number and e -mail address 
(if available) of other body:   
International Cooperation Office  
Ministry of Food and Drug Safety  
#187 Osongsaengmyeong2 -ro, Osong -eup,  
Heungdoek -gu, Cheongju -si 
Chungcheongbuk -do, 363 -700, Korea  
Tel: +(8243) 719 1554  
Fax: +(8243) 719 1550  
E-mail: intmfds@korea.kr  
13. Text(s) available from: [  ] National Notification Authority, [X]  National Enquiry 
Point. Address, fax number and e -mail address (if available) of other body:   
Documents are available from  the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety website at 
http://www.mfds.go.kr . Also available from:  
International Cooperation Office  
Ministry of Food and Drug Safety  
#187 Osongsaengmyeong2 -ro, Osong -eup,  
Heungdoek -gu, Cheongju -si 
Chungcheongbuk -do, 363 -700, Korea  
Tel: +(8243) 719 1554  
Fax: +(8243) 719 1550  
E-mail: intmfds@korea.kr