Changes to organic food certification in South Korea
SEOUL: Processed organic food products exported to Korea will have to meet a new certification system from January 2010.
Introduced by the Korean Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MiFAFF), the legislation requires companies labelling or selling their processed food products as organic to have their products certified by an agency accredited by MiFAFF.
The National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service (NAPQMS) has accredited 50 certifiers in Korea, for primary agricultural and livestock products. Eight of these certifiers have been approved to certify foreign agricultural produce.
MiFAFF has accredited two Korean certification agencies as of June 2009 for processed food products. Foreign certification agencies can apply to act as certification agencies but so far no overseas agencies have been accredited.
New Zealand companies interested in exporting organic processed food products to Korea must ensure that their suppliers of ingredients/raw materials (i.e. primary agricultural and livestock products) receive certification from an NAPQMS accredited certifier and suppliers of semi-processed ingredients receive certification from a MiFAFF accredited certifier. The manufacturer of the processed food product is then required to apply for certification from a MiFAFF accredited certifier.
Certifications from foreign certification agencies, not accredited by NAPQMS or MiFAFF, will not be recognised.
Two inspectors from the MiFAFF accredited certification agency will generally visit the New Zealand applicant’s plant or plants. In addition to a certification fee, their travel costs, including air tickets, inland transportation, hotel accommodation and meals, will need to be paid by the applicant.
Certification is only valid for one year and companies are required to re-certify on a yearly basis.
Processed food products imported in 2009 under previous regulations may only be sold until 31 December 2009. From 1 January 2010 only products with appropriate certification (as outlined above) can be sold as "organic" products.
Companies that are currently exporting organic products into Korea or plan to do so should consult their Korean importers prior to shipment of products.
For more information contact Graeme Solloway, Trade Commissioner, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE), Seoul, South Korea.