After 38 years, government changes food “expiration date” labels

December 11, 2022 Haneul Kim, Jeong Pyo Hong

Customers interested in near-expiration products.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced a new expiration date labeling system that will start on January 1 next year. Instead of marking the “sell-by” dates for foods, it will be replaced by the “use-by” labels. The system is designed to reduce the increase in food waste due to the existing expiration date system.

The newly “use-by” labeling refers to the period when there is no abnormal risk in the consumption if the product is stored as indicated. This is different from the existing label because it allows businesses to extend their selling dates. If food products have a limited time for its safe consumption, usually expiration dates are set at 60~70% of the quality. However, the reformation will expand its time limit to 80~90% of its quality.

Food products on sale before expiration date.

Seung-Ryong Yang, a Korea University professor from the Department of Food and Resource Economics, explains “people can still consume food products even if the quality changes. However, during this process of quality change, there is a period where the product cannot be consumed, which refers to the ‘use-by’ label. Additionally, the process in which the quality changes is called the ‘quality retention time’ or the ‘minimum retention time’, which refers to the maximum limit of time that the quality will be preserved.”

Filled food waste bins at Homeplus supermarket.

The existing expiration date system has been conducted since 1985 and will disappear for the first time in 38 years. South Korea is one of the few members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) that does not use the “use-by” dates. According to the Korea Health Industry Development Institute, on average 14,314 tons of food was dumped every day in South Korea in 2019, and food waste was responsible for about 8.85 million tons of gas emissions. Environmental groups argue that replacing the labeling system will become the first step to decreasing food waste.

Waste management center in Dongdaemun.

Despite the eco-friendly intentions from the government, there are also many concerns on the new implementation. The existing label could safely protect the quality of the product, but the new expiration date could lead to a higher risk of food deterioration. When such problem occurs, the responsibility is on the food manufacturers.

Convenience store employee organizing disposed products due to the near expiration dates.

It is also difficult to eliminate the expiration date that has been maintained for 38 years and set new deadlines. Although the government presented reference dates for each item, the consumption deadline is an area of autonomous responsibility for food manufacturers. Further, it seems crucial to eliminate the reluctance consumers feel at the beginning of the new system.

Sanitation worker collecting trash from the streets in Anam.

To minimize the problems, the government will implement the system from January 1 but will set a guidance period until December 31 of next year, allowing businesses to replace the labels in the packaging during the time.

Pamphlets informing the new reformation of the product labels.

Further, considering food safety, some items are temporarily excluded from the list of expiration dates. Milk will be an exception from the reformation, and the existing label will be used until the year 2031. This is because milk needs more thorough refrigerated distribution than other foods.

Displayed milk products that will maintain the existing expiration date labels.

Despite the reformation was in dispute for years, it took about 10 years for its implementation. Professor Yang explains “it could have taken sufficient time to implement the reformation, because a safe system for refrigerated distribution has recently been developed. Because current technology allows a very safe food management, a 30% of safety factor is excessive; therefore, the government started to change the labeling system to reduce waste and prevent unnecessary disruption. This is an important issue in which the health of the entire nation depends, which must be reviewed at the right time and considering the various side effects.”