The latest move comes as a response to an evaluation by the Board of Audit and Inspection, which said that in order for “cavity prevention” to actually work, one must chew 12 to 28 pieces of xylitol chewing gum every day. (image: KobizMedia/ Korea Bizwire)
SEOUL, Feb. 1 (Korea Bizwire) – Chewing gum containing xylitol will soon be banned from being marketed with the slogan “cavity prevention.” Xylitol has several known health benefits, including dental health, and so gum is often advertised in Korea as helping to prevent cavities.
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced Wednesday that it plans to revise its guidelines on advertising and labeling of food products, which currently allow xylitol gum to be advertised as such despite being legally categorized as “general food” instead of “functional food for health.”
In accordance with the revision, newly manufactured products will be banned from using slogans that could mislead consumers to believe that chewing gum is a functional food, although products already in distribution will not be affected by the revision.
The latest move comes as a response to an evaluation by the Board of Audit and Inspection, which said that in order for “cavity prevention” to actually work, one must chew 12 to 28 pieces of gum every day, meaning that two to three pieces per day will not make much difference to dental health.
Upon its discovery, the board notified the food ministry last month, and ordered officials to revise the advertising guidelines.
By Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
