“As people become more susceptible to food poisoning during the hot summer months, we are working to update legislation to require that expiry dates be printed on frozen sweets,” said Rep. Kim. (image: Flickr/ Michael Derr)
BUSAN, July 15 (Korea Bizwire) – Rep. Kim Hae-young of the Minjoo Party of Korea revealed on July 15 an amendment to the Food Sanitation Act that would require frozen sweets, particularly ice cream, to feature printed expiration dates. These types of products have been exempted in the past.
Current food sanitation legislation requires the labeling of any food items or food additives available for sale to specify the name of the product, the date of manufacture, nutritional information, and the expiration date when manufactured, processed, distributed, or imported, although frozen ice cream is exempt from this rule.
According to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, frozen sweets such as ice cream are exempted from expiration date labeling requirements because they are less likely to be contaminated, but only when stored below -18 degrees Celsius. If tstorage temperatures are not kept constant, or if frozen food thaws during the distribution process, products can become contaminated with E. coli bacteria.
Many consumer complaints related to ice cream filed with the Korea Consumer Agency deal with frozen sweets being spoiled or contamination that may have resulted from prolonged storage or delayed distribution.
“As people become more susceptible to food poisoning during the hot summer months, we are working to update legislation to require that expiry dates be printed on frozen sweets,” said Rep. Kim.
By M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
