On 6 November 2025, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety of Korea (MFDS) released, in the form of an administrative advance notice, a partial amendment draft to the Standards for Labeling of Foods, etc. (Draft) (MFDS Notice No. 2025-448), and initiated a public consultation process pursuant to Article 46 of the Administrative Procedures Act.

This amendment revises certain labeling requirements under the current Standards for Labeling of Foods, etc. (MFDS Notice No. 2025-60, issued on 29 August 2025), with the main focus on the criteria for labeling decaffeinated coffee and the labeling rules applicable to alcoholic co-branded products.

According to the draft, Korea proposes to revise the criteria for the determination and labeling of “decaffeinated (caffeine-free) coffee.” The current approach, which is based on a caffeine removal rate of not less than 90%, would be replaced by a criterion based on the residual caffeine content in the coffee beans used as raw materials. Specifically, products that use decaffeinated coffee beans as ingredients and that contain no more than 0.1% caffeine, calculated on a coffee-bean solid basis, may be labeled as “decaffeinated (caffeine-free)” or “made with decaffeinated (caffeine-free) coffee beans.”

The draft further introduces new labeling requirements for alcoholic co-branded products. Specifically, where an alcoholic product is manufactured or processed using the same or similar name, trademark, mark, symbol, or logo as a non-alcoholic food, or adopts containers or packaging designs that may cause consumers to confuse it with a general food product, the alcoholic nature of the product must be clearly indicated on the principal display panel. Such indication must include wording such as “alcohol” or “alcoholic beverage,” be enclosed within a border, be clearly distinguishable from the background color, and use a font size of no less than 20 points, in order to prevent consumer confusion or misidentification.

The public consultation period is open until 6 January 2026.

According to the proposed implementation schedule, the revised Standards for Labeling of Foods, etc. are, in principle, scheduled to enter into force on 1 January 2028. Foods that are manufactured, processed, or imported prior to the effective date may continue to be sold until the end of their consumption period. The amended provisions relating to decaffeinated coffee labeling may be applied in advance prior to the formal effective date, while provisions concerning radiation irradiation labeling and Table 5 (adjustment of food additive names) shall take effect from the date of promulgation of the amended notice.

References

https://members.wto.org/crnattachments/2025/TBT/KOR/25_07989_00_x.pdf

https://eping.wto.org/en/Search/Index?countryIds=C410&viewData=G%2FTBT%2FN%2FKOR%2F1327