The South Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) in March 2026 published an amendment to the Standards and Specifications for Utensils, Containers and Packages, the country’s primary food contact material (FCM) regulation. The MFDS made three major changes meant to “ensure consistency and uniformity in the application of standards and specifications.”
- Adding explanations of terms and revising wording
- Clarifying standards and specifications in relation to the prohibition on the use of di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP, CAS 117-81-7) and di-(2-ethylhexyl) adipate (DEHA, CAS 103-23-1) for polyvinyl chloride (PVC) materials
- Defining criteria so that polypropylene (PP), which has not been exposed to contamination sources other than food, may be used as recycled raw material
MFDS added a section defining multiple terms (Section I) “to resolve inconvenience for users, including businesses and testing institutions.”
For PVC, DEHP must not be used in FCMs except where there is no concern that DEHP will migrate into food; even then, DEHP must not be detected in the migration test. DEHA is prohibited in wraps under use-specific conditions.
Polypropylene (PP), which has not been exposed to contamination sources other than food, may be used as recycled raw material to expand the availability of recyclate (Section IV and Appendix/Table 4). The recycled PP must be from FCMs made only of PP; use history must be traceable; the FCM must not be directly printed on, except where non-adhesive, heat-alkali-removable ink is used, and adhesives must not be used; and the FCM must be thoroughly washed using detergents under the Sanitary Products Control Act. Additionally, the closed loop recycling of food-contact PP must be managed entirely separately from other recycling.
References
MFDS (March 27, 2026). “Full Notice of ‘Standards and Specifications for Instruments, Containers, and Packaging’ (Notice No. 2026-24, Reflected on March 27, 2026).” (in Korean)
MFDS (March 27, 2026). “[Press Release] Full-scale Implementation of Polypropylene (PP) Recycled Food Containers.” (in Korean)
Read more
SGS (April 23, 2026). “South Korea Updates Standards and Specifications for Food Contact Materials.”
