SMEs Request MFDS to Postpone Mandatory HACCP Implementation Deadline

Kim Ki-moon, Chairman of the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Hyewon] The small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) sector proposed 12 food and drug policy tasks to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS), including the consideration of postponing the mandatory implementation of the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) system.

On the 16th, the Korea Federation of SMEs held a meeting with the MFDS Commissioner at the Federation's office in Yeouido, Seoul, to discuss these matters.

From the MFDS, Commissioner Lee Ui-kyung and four other directors attended, while from the SME sector, 10 representatives including Kim Ki-moon, Chairman of the Korea Federation of SMEs, Cho Yong-jun, Chairman of the Korea Pharmaceutical Cooperative, and Lee Jae-hwa, Chairman of the Korea Medical Device Industry Cooperative, participated.

Chairman Kim said, “Most SMEs are suffering from decreased sales and production disruptions due to COVID-19,” adding, “Balanced implementation of regulations and support policies is necessary, with food and drug policies that consider the response capacity of SMEs on the ground.”

The Korea Federation of SMEs proposed expanding the use of the Food Promotion Fund to support SMEs, extending the payment deadline for cosmetic fines, and promoting installment payments.

The MFDS stated that it will actively consider postponing the mandatory implementation of HACCP to alleviate the burden on small food manufacturers and expand the scope of the Food Promotion Fund projects to provide timely support to SMEs.

Commissioner Lee Ui-kyung said, “We will strive to ensure that the proposed tasks and suggestions are implemented in a balanced manner within government policies,” and added, “We will boldly improve unnecessary regulations unrelated to safety so that SMEs can quickly overcome the economic crisis caused by COVID-19 and continue to grow sustainably.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.