South Korea participates in Codex meeting to modernize food trade standards

South Korea's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) participated in the 28th Codex Alimentarius Commission meeting on import/export inspection and certification systems held in Perth, Australia. The meeting included 240 participants from 68 member states and international organizations such as the WHO and FAO.

Key discussions focused on modernizing global food trade standards, including the establishment of guidelines for preventing food fraud, modernizing traceability, and standardizing sanitary certificates. The MFDS proposed that while final manufacturers should be the primary target for overseas facility registration, importing countries should retain the right to add more entities based on specific risk assessments to prevent excessive non-tariff barriers.

Regarding sanitary certificates, the MFDS advocated for a phased digital transition that allows for the simultaneous use of paper documents to accommodate varying levels of digital infrastructure among nations. These efforts aim to harmonize international standards and support the global expansion of Korean food products.