Fine prints on food labeling to be enlarged

Fine prints on food labeling to be enlarged. February. 21, 2017 07:07. by Ho-Kyeong Kim kimhk@donga.com.

The fine-print information on processed foods, such as shelf life and details of ingredients, will be made easier to read. In a near future, consumers will be able to get detailed information on the food of their choice with a smartphone scanning on the bar code on the wrapping paper.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced Monday that it will implement a pilot project to enhance the legibility of information written on processed food by the end of this year. This program is aimed at testing the effectiveness of the revised “Act on Specifications Standard on Food,” which will be enforced in January next year. The program will be implemented on 30 varieties of products from 11 companies including Nong Shim Yukgaejang cup noodle, Lotte Confectionary, Ottogi strawberry jam, and Pulmuone oriental dressing.

The biggest difference will be the presentation of a summary list on food showing essential consumer information such as shelf life, ingredients, and caution for allergies. The font sizes, most of which were 6 points, will be made 10 points or bigger. The list will consist of 7 categories such as the name of product and business, shelf life, ingredients, allergies, product category report number, and website address.

Other information details can be obtained by scanning the bar code with smartphone. Once you download the free app developed by the Food and Drug Ministry, you can get access to various information including administrative measures, product recalls, and disposals conducted by the manufacturer by scanning the bar code. If consumer finds any part that is too difficult to understand, he or she can look up the information on Internet portal sites. Currently, the app is only available on the Google Play Store as an iOS app has not been developed.

“Ten products with the different display of information are already on sale. By late this month, you will be able to find all the 30 products with bigger fonts in the market,” said Jeon Dae-hoon, a researcher at the Food Consumption and Safety Department under the Food and Drug Safety Ministry.