SEOUL, June 15 (Korea Bizwire) – Nutritional information on food products is often hard to read, and sometimes quite ambiguous. But this information will become more legible with the latest government amendment to labeling regulations.
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety revealed Tuesday the revised version of its ‘Labeling Standards for Food Products’, which will take effect in 2018.
The revision obliges manufacturers to print labels with a text size of at least 10 points, which is the standard for documents in Korea.
Current regulations require a minimum 7-point font for raw materials, and 8-point for the business name and location. Under current standards, 12-point fonts are only required for expiration dates.
Manufacturers will also be required to use a standardized table set forth by the ministry.
Furthermore, nutritional information will be given using ‘per package’ standards instead of ‘per serving’.
Nutritional information such as calories and sodium content, which consumers are most concerned with, will be placed before other details, towards the top of the table.
By Joseph Shin (jss539@koreabizwire.com)