South Korea to revise food contact material standard

In May 2021, the Ministry of food and drug safety (MFDs) of South Korea conducted a public review on the proposal to revise the standard of food contact materials. The latest proposal makes several important changes to the standard, as follows:

(1) Add new language and structure to make the standard clearer;

(2) Polyketone was added to the synthetic resin as a new material;

(3) The synthetic resins with similar structure were divided into nine categories;

(4) The specifications of each synthetic resin, rubber, regenerated cellulose, paper, metal / alloy, wood and starch are provided in the table for reference;

(5) Safety requirements for active substances and intelligent substances in containers and packages are added;

(6) Provide improved standards for recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET);

(7) The improved test methods of colorant and sulfur dioxide were introduced in detail.

(8) Polyketide is a kind of material polymerized by acetyl and propionyl groups. It can be used as antibiotic, antifungal, cell stable or natural insecticide. The requirements for polyketones are as follows: