Food and drug safety ministry tightens sugar alcohol rules

The food and drug safety ministry said it would partially revise quality-certification rules for children's preferred foods, setting a less-than-10-percent limit on sugar alcohol use to align the standard with a new warning-label requirement at that threshold.

Previously, only candy faced a cap, allowing sugar alcohols to account for no more than 20 percent of total content. The new threshold applies across children's preferred foods eligible for quality certification, including snacks and certain beverages. Sugar alcohols are a type of food additive used as sweeteners, and the ministry cited the possibility of diarrhea from excessive consumption.

The quality-certification program encourages the manufacture, processing, distribution and sale of children's preferred foods that meet safety and nutritional requirements. Under the law, such foods are items mainly preferred or frequently consumed by children.

"We expect this revision to strengthen safety standards for quality-certified children's preferred foods and create an environment where children can make choices with confidence," the ministry said. "We will continue to make certification criteria for snacks, candy and beverages favored by children more stringent and comprehensive."

The partial revision is scheduled for Aug. 14. Details of the notice are available on the National Law Information Center and the ministry's website, while certification-status information is available on the ministry and Food Safety Korea websites.