Korea - Approved Amendments to Standards and specifications of Utensil, container, and packaging
On March 27, 2026, The Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) has issued Notice No. 2026-24 to amend the Standards and specifications of Utensil, container, and packaging. This notice has come into force. The approved amendments are as follows:
- Due to the reorganization of the content structure of the standards, the sequence of the regulations will be slightly changed, but the content remains the same. (Part I General Rules)
- The terminologies used in standards and its definitions are newly provided in No.4 of Part I General Rules.
- Newly stipulated the Recyclable materials standards as part IV in standards, and it shall apply to:
- The synthetic resin that after being decomposed and purified into raw materials by heating, chemical reaction, and polymerized again and recycled (chemical recycling).
- As a synthetic resin of physically recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polypropylene (PP) materials, and it has been approved by MFDS in accordance with Article 9, Paragraph 2, of the “Food Hygiene Law”.
- The recognition criteria for physical synthetic resin recycling materials shall follow the [Appendix 4] of standards.
- There is an amendment on migration specification of poly(vinyl chloride) : PVC (1-8, a, 3)).
Item Previous standard MFDS
Notice No. 2024-29New standard MFDS Notice
No.2026-24Di-(2-ethylhexyl)-phthalate (DEHP) ≤1.5 mg/L Shall not be detected Di-(2-ethylhexyl)-adipate (DEHA) ≤18 mg/L ≤18 mg/L (for the plastic wrap, it shall not be detected) - Effective Date & Transition Period
- Effective Date: This Notice enters into force on the date of its promulgation (March 27, 2026).
- Transition Period: A 12-month grace period applies to the amended migration specifications for DEHP in PVC and DEHA in plastic wrap (i.e., "shall not be detected"). These provisions will formally take effect from March 27, 2027.
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