South Korea Proposes Amendment to the Food Sanitation Act to Strengthen Mandatory Food Recall Requirements

South Korea Proposes Amendment to the Food Sanitation Act to Strengthen Mandatory Food Recall Requirements

18th July, 2025

The National Assembly received a proposal for a partial amendment to the Food Sanitation Act on July 18, 2025. The bill, numbered Bill No. 11551, was submitted by Representative Park Hee-seung and 15 co-sponsors. The proposal aims to revise Article 45 and Article 101 of the Act concerning recall obligations for hazardous foods.

According to the text of the bill, 751 recall orders were issued between 2019 and June 2024, and the actual recall rate reached 11.2% of the distributed volume. The bill states that this low recovery rate indicates a need for strengthened regulatory requirements for business operators responsible for food recalls.

The amendment introduces new mandatory components for recall plans submitted by business operators when hazardous food products are identified. The proposed items are:

  1. Product name, date of manufacture, and shelf life;
  2. Distribution volume;
  3. Planned recall quantity calculated based on consumption volume and shelf life;
  4. Reason for recall;
  5. Recall method;
  6. Recall period and estimated duration;
  7. Action plan for the recalled food products;
  8. Method for notifying the public of the recall.

Under the amendment, the Minister of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS), mayors, provincial governors, or heads of si/gun/gu must take the following actions after receiving a recall plan:
• Order publication of the recall plan under Article 73(1);
• Verify the adequacy of the recall plan;
• Conduct inspections of recalled food products still in circulation to confirm the violation.

If authorities determine that supplementation or modification of the recall plan is required, they may order the business operator to correct the plan within a specified period.

The amendment also requires business operators who have submitted a recall plan to report recall results without delay. The recall results must include:
• Manufacturing/processing quantity, sales quantity, recall quantity, and unrecovered quantity;
• Action plan for unrecovered products;
• Measures to prevent recurrence.
If the food item is imported under the Special Act on Imported Food Safety Control, the recall results must be reported directly to MFDS.

The bill additionally proposes amendments to Article 101(2) to establish administrative penalties of up to 5 million KRW for the following violations:
• Failure to report a recall plan (Article 45(1));
• Failure to comply with an order to supplement or modify a recall plan (Article 45(3));
• Failure to report recall results (Article 45(4)).

According to the addendum, the amendment would take effect six months after promulgation if passed.

 

Reference

https://opinion.lawmaking.go.kr/gcom/nsmLmSts/out/2211551/detailRP?utm