South Korea is allowing vitamins, minerals, and supplements (VMS) to be made into more types of dosage forms, with jelly, film, and disintegrating tablets added into the list of permitted formats for VMS.
South Korea is going digital in its efforts to crackdown on imported kimchi and related products masquerading as being locally produced, after identifying a large leap in the imports of ingredients traditionally used to in the sector.
An anti-diabetic health functional food containing banaba leaf, bitter melon, and peony root extracts is expected to hit the South Korean market next year.
South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) has completed yet another clampdown exercise – this time round on advertisements of general foods and health functional foods that make claims in improving students’ memory and immunity.
Regulators across Asia Pacific are paying more attention to the rapidly growing probiotic market and have introduced new policies to keep up with the category’s development, said regulatory specialists on the third day of our Probiota Asia digital summit.
South Korea has made locusts the nation’s tenth approved edible insect, as well as publishing a new set of guidelines for the manufacturing of relevant products.
South Korea is tightening its watch over the quality of krill oil by proposing to follow the CODEX standards, including setting a minimum requirement for phospholipids concentration and limiting the amount of linoleic acid and myristic acid.
The South Korean government is ramping up its efforts to develop the domestic dairy industry after acknowledging a significant drop in self-sufficiency over the past two decades.
South Korea Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) is stemming the advertising of fermented milk as products with health benefits, such as improving intestinal and immune health, in its latest crackdown on probiotic-related products.
South Korean firm Navipharm is focusing its R&D efforts on duo-strain probiotics products, after conducting research that appears to show that they are as efficacious, and more cost effective, as compared to multi-strain products.
South Korean plant-based firm The PlantEat has highlighted the pursuit of weight loss, especially amongst the younger generation in the country, as a major driver behind the growth of the local plant-based sector.
The Korea Consumer Agency has urged the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) to re-evaluate the use of aloe vera whole leaf extract in health functional foods, cliaming long-term use could lead to side-effects, such as decreased colon function.
Foreign food companies looking to benefit from South Korea’s e-commerce boom are being advised to prioritise localisation to maximise reach, with the nation’s per capita online transactions having been revealed as the highest worldwide.
COSMAX NBT is opening its fifth and final personalised nutrition store in October under the South Korean government’s personalised nutrition sandbox project, with the firm believing that the concept is rapidly gaining traction with consumers.
This round-up of developments in South Korea's nutraceutical industry features MFDS' increased inspection of imported krill oil products, Amorepacific growing its global green tea probiotics business, and a look into beauty-from-within trends...
South Korean consumers have petitioned the country’s Ministry of Foods and Drug Safety (MFDS) to inspect imported krill oil products, amid a string of scandals in the past year.
South Korea’s Rural Development Administration (RDA) is exploring the use of Platycodon grandiflorum, commonly known as balloon flower or Chinese bellflower, as a health functional food after studies showed that it could lower blood triglyceride levels.
South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) has uncovered products containing Viagra and other medicines used to treat erectile dysfunction (ED) entering the country under the guise of vitamin C and bromelain supplements.
Companies are still seeing opportunities in developing supplements that address the evergreen needs of weight management and skin protection, even as consumers tighten their purse strings and spend more on hygiene and immune health supplements.
South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) will continue with its high profile crackdown on non-compliant probiotic and krill oil products, with a market expert telling us it is ‘no coincidence’ that these categories remain in the spotlight.
A mixture of four Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium probiotic strains has shown to lower alcohol and acetaldehyde concentration in individuals with the genotype prone to Asian flush.
South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) is taking action against 21 e-commerce websites selling protein bars marketed with ‘fake’ claims, including body fat reduction and muscle strength related statements.
South Korean food and beverage firms have just had a massive new market open up to them after trade discussions between the government and the European Union (EU) led to all 27 EU countries accepting ‘complex food’ imports from South Korea such as bread,...
The redefinition of postbiotics, Taiwan animal test ban on anti-fatigue health claims, and new fish oil standards in Thailand are some of the topics covered in this regulatory round-up.
The South Korean authorities have proposed new precautionary information for eight functional ingredients, including ginseng and milk thistle, as well as adjusting the daily intake level of indigestible maltodextrin and aloe gel.
A group of ex-Amorepacific nutricosmetics employees has established a new kids supplement brand and hopes to make a name for itself in what it sees as a less competitive market brimming with unmet consumer needs.
South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) claimed that three imported probiotics from Canada and Australia had actual probiotic counts that were lower than the indicated amount in its latest inspection exercise.
South Korean biotech company Huons has launched a powder stick version of its flagship product Elruby Menolacto, a probiotic said to alleviate menopausal symptoms.
South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) recently concluded a lead safety inspection on imported US baby food brands sold in the country and one product by US brand - Plum Organics – was found to contain lead exceeding permitted levels.
South Korean authorities say that a number of products which claimed to be “100 per cent” krill oil, actually contained vegetable oil and other blends of oils and fats.
A decade-long study has shown that there is a rising number of Korean children and adolescents with a larger waist circumference and higher fasting glucose levels, amid an increase in calorie and fat intake during the same period.
South Korea has proposed a draft where additional labelling of origin of raw materials should be indicated for all imported agriculture, aqua and processed foods following Japan’s decision to release more than one million tonnes of treated radioactive...
The tips of sweet potato are said have anti-inflammatory and anti-diabetic potential, according to South Korea’s Rural Development Administration (RDA).
The South Korean authorities have released a proposal on how oxidation should be measured in EPA and DHA products, in what is being seen as a move to bridge the gap between locally-made and imported products.
In this round-up of new regulatory developments, we look at hemp, CBD, and fish oil related regulatory changes in Thailand, as well as how South Korean and Chinese authorities are coping with non-compliant products.
South Korea’s Rural Development Administration (RDA) is working with an industry partner, Huons Nature, in commercialising a kimchi-derived probiotic that has shown to be beneficial for immune health.
South Korea has finally laid out the governance rules for ‘elderly-friendly foods’ based on main ingredient ratios, with experts believing that this will have a significant impacts on a number of categories.
Nearly seven in 10 Koreans said they had bought and consumed health functional foods last year, according to a survey conducted by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) involving 1,500 men and women aged 19 and above.
South Korea has published a list of almost 3,000 food and beverage products which are banned from being sold on school grounds for being too high in calories and low in nutritional value, or high in caffeine in the government’s latest attempt to ensure...
South Korean biotech company Huons is developing a functional ingredient based on goji berry together with Hanyang University to help improve muscle strength.
Italian frozen fruit snack company Frutteto will start manufacturing part of its products in Japan, its largest market, and is on-track to launch in China this year.
The timing of market entry, familiarity with regulations, and detailed consumer understanding are crucial for firms considering opportunities within Korea’s new General Foods with Function Claims policy, according to a regulatory expert in the country.
South Korea’s import of health functional foods was up 23.4 per cent last year, higher than the three-year annual average of 21.4 per cent, with the US taking the top spot in product volumes.
The South Korean regulator has said it will be issuing “Inspection Orders” on imported probiotics that have failed conformity tests three or more times in the past three years.