South Korea to implement new standards for imported food next year, the entry threshold for food enterprises may be raised

On August 4, the reporter learned from the Guangdong Inspection and Quarantine Bureau that South Korea's Special Law on the Administration of Imported Food Safety will be formally implemented on February 4, 2016. The new regulations will have a relatively large impact on imported food safety supervision policies and new standards for pesticide residues. The changes are expected to have a certain impact on my food exports to South Korea in terms of entry barriers, trade costs and customs clearance procedures. It is reported that South Korea is one of the important markets for food exports in Guangdong and China, and nearly 30% of the food imported by South Korea comes from China.

According to reports, the "China-South Korea Free Trade Agreement" was initialed on February 25, 2015, and is expected to be formally signed in the near future and enter into force within this year, and will have an impact on Guangdong's trade with South Korea.

South Korea is one of the important markets for food exports from Guangdong and my country. Nearly 30% of the food imported from South Korea comes from China. In 2014, the value of my country's food exported to South Korea reached US $4.864 billion. According to statistics from Guangdong Inspection and Quarantine Bureau, in the first half of this year, Guangdong ports (excluding Shenzhen and Zhuhai) exported 390 batches of Korean food, 6377.2 tons and 14.009 million US dollars, up 9.9 percent, down 2.8 percent and up 19.2 percent respectively over the same period last year. The export varieties involved more than 20 kinds of food, of which canned vegetables, candy, frozen aquatic products, cakes and biscuits and beverages accounted for 90 percent of the total export value to South Korea.

It is reported that South Korea will formally implement the Special Law on the Administration of imported Food Safety on February 4 next year. A person from the Guangdong Inspection and Quarantine Bureau said that according to the study and the exchange and confirmation of South Korean officials in China, South Korea's current regulations on the safety of imported food are scattered in four different decrees, namely, the Food Hygiene Law, the Health Function Food Law, the Animal Product Hygiene Management Law, and the Animal Infectious Disease Prevention Law. These four management standards are not uniform, different types of food need to be declared to different departments during customs clearance, and there is a lack of uniform norms for port inspection. The new "Special Law on the Safety Management of Imported Food" integrates the provisions of the four decrees on imported food.

"The scope of administration of the Special Law includes pre-import, port clearance and circulation links. Among them, preventive safety management is implemented in advance in the pre-import stage, and it is stipulated that overseas production units should be registered and on-site visits should be made to overseas production units as needed. The validity period of the enterprise registration is two years. If the overseas production unit refuses the on-site inspection or the on-site inspection finds that the imported food is harmful, South Korea can implement the import suspension measure." Inspection and quarantine experts pointed out that South Korea's new regulation also emphasizes the main responsibility of enterprises and implements a registration system for excellent import units and overseas excellent production units. One of the conditions for registration as an excellent import unit is to inspect the health management status of overseas production units in accordance with the standards set by South Korea's Ministry of Food and Drug. The registration is valid for three years. Foreign production enterprises to apply for registration as overseas excellent production units to accept the Ministry of food and drug on-site inspection, registration is also valid for three years.

In addition, South Korea will also implement differentiated management, grading imported products according to risk levels, past records of hazardous substances detected, foreign food safety information, etc., and conducting differentiated management in accordance with three types of methods: general, attention, and concentration.

The Guangdong Inspection and Quarantine Bureau reminded that domestic food manufacturers exporting to South Korea must understand in advance and prepare in advance to adapt to changes in new regulations and standards. Especially when choosing South Korean trading partners, pay attention to whether the other party is likely to obtain the registration qualification of excellent import units, and cooperate with capable South Korean importers as much as possible to obtain maximum customs clearance convenience. At the same time, we must pay attention to daily management, strengthen process control in strict accordance with food hygiene requirements, implement good operating practices, accelerate upgrading and development, and avoid being found to have serious defects in the control system during inspections. Primary agricultural producers should understand the changes in pesticide residue limit standards after the introduction of the "positive list system" in South Korea, and strictly manage inputs. When disputes arise, Guangdong enterprises should actively use the China-Korea Free Trade Area Agreement to properly handle trade disputes, simplify procedures, reduce risks, and protect their legitimate rights and interests. (reporter/ou zhikui correspondent/yue jianxuan)

2015-08-06 Source: Nanfang Daily