Date of issue: 28 October 2019
Date of effect: Immediate
Reference Number: MAA2019-06
Attention:
- Industries- Industry Bodies – Australian Food and Grocery Council
- Export processed food establishments
- Licensed exporters
- Department of Agriculture —Central and regional office, Food Export Documentation, Registration and Licensing Unit
Purpose
To notify food exporters that the Republic of Korea has made changes to the Special Act on Imported Food Safety Control.
Summary of key points
- The Republic of Korea (Korea) has implemented a change to the Special Act on Imported Food Safety Control (the Special Act), which aims to further strengthen the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety’s (MFDS) oversight of food safety controls at foreign food producing establishments that export to Korea.
- A key change includes the ability for MFDS to suspend imports from foreign food facilities that refuse, interfere with or avoid on-site inspections. The department has approached MFDS to reiterate that all requests for on-site audits of processed food establishments must be directed to the department and not individual establishments.
- If establishments are approached directly by MFDS or Korean delegated authorities (such as the Korean Agency of HACCP Accreditation and Services; KAHAS) to conduct an on-site audit, this request should be referred to the department via email at Export Standards.
Further information
Please contact Export Standards if you have any queries.
The information provided in this advice is current at the time of writing and is intended for use as guidance only and should not be taken as definitive or exhaustive. The Commonwealth endeavours to keep information current and accurate, however, it may be subject to change without notice. Exporters are encouraged to verify these details with their importers prior to undertaking production/exports. The Commonwealth will not accept liability for any loss resulting from reliance on information contained in this notice.