Expressions related to hangover relief include “sobering up” and “the day after drinking” and products using these terms would need to be supported by human data.
These data could come from human application testing conducted by the companies themselves or based on findings from systematic review.
The Korea Food Industry Association (KFIA) is tasked to conduct autonomous review of the data submitted by companies.
Following the review, the products must also be labelled and advertised according to KFIA’s requirements.
The policy kicks in this month but products that are already sold in the market would have a grace period until June 30 to back up its claims with empirical data.
The MFDS said that the goal was to ensure that the products’ efficacy and effectiveness were proven by empirical data. It also hopes to address the issue of unfair product advertising.
“In accordance with the enforcement of Article 3 of the Supplementary Provisions of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety Notification revised in 2020, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety requires human application test data from business operators when there are concerns about unfair labelling or advertising of hangover relief food products based on the Food Labelling and Advertising Act,” said the MFDS.
Failure to comply can result in the temporary suspension of the business.
“Upon receiving the submission, the validity of the labelling and advertising contents can be reviewed, and business operators who do not submit empirical data from human application tests can be ordered to suspend labelling and advertising until they are submitted,” the ministry added.
For instance, businesses that did not submit the empirical data or did not comply with KFIA’s review results will have their production suspended for 15 days.
South Korea has a growing hangover relief market. According to NielsenIQ Korea, sales of hangover relief products – including beverages, pills, jellies, gummies – has hit KRW350bn (US$261m) in 2023, which was a double-digit increase from the year before.
Tapping on the growth momentum, Chong Kun Dang is one of the latest companies to launch new hangover relief products.
The pill-and-shot dual format product contains the extract of the plant Morinda citrifolia, as well as five types of B vitamins and vitamin C.
A study published in Journal of Medicinal Food in 2022 reported that the Morinda citrifolia extract could ameliorate alcoholic liver disease through the gut-liver axis, based on mice study results.
Taiwan-based Greenyn has also been working on securing regulatory approval in South Korea for an ingredient that has been shown to improve liver function of regular drinkers.
The ingredient is the extract of the mushroom Antrodia cinnamomea mycelia. It was shown to have significantly reduced alanine aminotransferase levels after 12 weeks of supplementation.
Alanine aminotransferase is an enzyme and elevated levels in the blood could signal liver damage. The results therefore suggest that the ingredient may relieve liver injury caused by chronic alcohol use.
