Gov't tightens labeling rules for decaffeinated coffee, alcohol products

“For coffee drinkers and grocery shoppers in Korea, the fine print on the packaging is about to get a lot clearer. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety unveiled Tuesday a set of revised labeling standards designed to eliminate consumer confusion over decaffeinated coffee and to prevent alcoholic beverages from being mistaken for ordinary food products. The move is part of a broader regulatory overhaul aimed at aligning domestic food safety metrics with international benchmarks. Under the new rules, the "decaffeinated" label will now be reserved exclusively for coffee products where the residual caffeine in the beans measures 0.1 percent or less on a dry-weight basis. The previous standard was significantly more lenient, allowing the label if 90 percent of the caffeine had been removed. Regulators noted that the old rule often left a gap between consumer expectations and reality: if a starting batch of beans was exceptionally high in caffeine, the "decaffeinated" end product could still pack a surprising punch. The shift brings Korea’s caffeine standards into harmony with those of the U

Summary generated from the RSS feed of Korea Times Southkorea. All article rights belong to the original publisher. Click through to read the full piece on www.koreatimes.co.kr.