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South Korea extends mandatory labelling of Genetic Engineering

In July 2026, the South Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety published new labelling standards for genetically modified food. Under these standards, from the end of 2026, sauces and pastes containing genetically modified ingredients must also be labelled accordingly, and from the end of 2027, sugar, cooking oils and fats must also be labelled.

This brings to an end the previous exemption in South Korea from the labelling requirement for highly processed products containing genetically modified ingredients that are no longer detectable in the final product. This brings the country’s regulations closer to those in the EU.

As a next step, the South Korean “National Campaign against GMOs“ is calling for a reduction in the current threshold for “unintentional presence“ from 3 percent to 0.9 percent “or less“, in line with EU regulations. Furthermore, the campaigners are demanding that the labelling requirement must apply “without exception to all foodstuffs sold domestically“.

South Korea Expands Mandatory GMO Labeling to Highly Processed Foods