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WTO notification · SPS

South KoreaProposed measure, may since have been adopted

Food – South Korea

Official title

Partial Amendment Notice (Draft) of Standards and Specifications for Health Functional Foods. - Advance Notice No. 2025-435, 17 October 2025

South Korea notified this proposed SPS measure to the WTO on 21 October 2025. The comment period closed on 20 December 2025.

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Source: WTO ePing (opens in a new tab). Summaries by Expodite, which is independent of the WTO.

Published here:

At a glance

Products

Health functional food products

Notifying member
South Korea(Korea, Republic of)
Status
Proposed measure, may since have been adoptedNotified as a draft on 21 October 2025. Check WTO ePing or South Korea for its current status.
Objectives
  • Food safety
Area
SPS: Food safety, animal and plant healthSanitary and phytosanitary measures
Notification type
Regular notification
Document symbol
G/SPS/N/KOR/831
Keywords
Human health, Food safety

Key dates

Distributed by the WTO
Comment deadline
Closed on 20 December 2025
Proposed adoption
To be determined.
Proposed entry into force
To be determined.

How to comment

The comment period closed on 20 December 2025. You can still raise concerns about the measure with your country's WTO SPS enquiry point, quoting the document symbol G/SPS/N/KOR/831; it can take them up with South Korea.

Find your country's enquiry point on WTO ePing (opens in a new tab)

What the notification says

The proposed amendments seek to: Revise the precautions for intake of Garcinia cambogia extracts [Article 3. 2. 2-25 3)]. This action is based on the deliberation that the adverse event of acute hepatitis, which occurred following the consumption of a health functional food, highly likely has a causal relationship with the ingestion of Garcinia cambogia extracts, the functional ingredient. Furthermore, expert opinion indicated that the possibility of liver toxicity occurring when this functional ingredient is consumed concomitantly with alcohol cannot be excluded. To prevent the occurrence of adverse events by providing safety information to consumers, a new precaution will be established: ‘May rarely cause liver damage. Avoid alcohol consumption during the period of ingestion.’

Sources

Expodite writes its summary from the official record. The notification and the documents it notifies are on the WTO's own websites.

All updates from South Korea

  1. WTO notificationSPSProposed measure, open for comments

    Proposed amendments to Standards for Recognition of Temporary Standard and Specifications for Foods

    The Republic of Korea is proposing to amend the 'Standards for Recognition of Temporary Standard and Specifications for Foods'. The regulations on applying for temporary standards and specifications of new food ingredients, food additives, etc. have been improved as following; 1) Revisions…

    Symbol: G/SPS/N/KOR/855Comments until 5 January 2027

  2. WTO notificationTBTProposed measure, open for comments

    Draft Partial Amendment to the Enforcement Rule of the Industrial Standardizatoin Act

    New tailored certification audit types (D, E, and G types) and procedures are newly introduced, and specific audit criteria for each type are established to accommodate various industrial environments, such as entities without manufacturing facilities (Article 13, Annex 7-2, Annex 8, and Annex 9).

    No products listed by the notifying member

    Symbol: G/TBT/N/KOR/1387Comments until 3 January 2027

  3. WTO notificationSPSProposed measure, open for comments

    Partial Amendment Notice (Draft) of Standards and Specifications for Health Functional Foods (Advance Notice No. 2026-513, 23 October 2026)

    The proposed amendments seek to: A. Strengthening common manufacturing standards for functional ingredients (Draft Articles 2.1.3 and 2.2.3) - Establish specifications for the use of mixed functional ingredients and other ingredients to prevent misuse and side effects and ensure safe intake by…

    Symbol: G/SPS/N/KOR/854Comments until 3 January 2027

  4. WTO notificationSPSProposed measure, open for comments

    Partial Amendment Notice (Draft) of Standards and Specifications for Health Functional Foods (Advance Notice No. 2026-512, 23 October 2026)

    The proposed amendments seek to: A. Reorganization of the structural framework of the Standards and Specifications for Health Functional Foods (Draft Articles I.2, I.3, I.4, I.5, II.1, II.2, II.3, II.4, II.6, and [Annex 4]) The provisions for 'Collection and Handling of Test Samples' were…

    Symbol: G/SPS/N/KOR/853Comments until 3 January 2027

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