Seoul Institute of Health and Environment Finds 'Ginsenoside' Content in Health Functional Foods Twice That of Regular Foods

Investigation of Functional Ingredient Content in 98 Online and Offline Distributed Red Ginseng Products

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Institute of Health and Environment Research purchased 98 different types of red ginseng products distributed both online and offline and investigated the content of ginsenosides, the functional ingredient. The results showed that health functional foods contained about twice as much ginsenosides as general foods.

According to Seoul City on the 10th, the institute investigated 63 general processed foods containing red ginseng and 35 health functional foods. The average ginsenoside content per daily intake was 8.799 mg for general processed foods and 18.211 mg for health functional foods.

Comparing the average ginsenoside content per daily intake by product form, health functional foods showed differences with concentrations being twice as high, powders 1.2 times higher, stick types 2.5 times higher, and pouch types 1.7 times higher than general processed foods containing red ginseng.

The institute especially emphasized that stick-type or concentrated products are widely sold not only as health functional foods but also as general processed foods such as liquid tea and red ginseng beverages. Therefore, consumers need to carefully check the labeling (food type) according to their intake purpose when selecting products.

Among general processed foods containing red ginseng, the average ginsenoside content per daily intake by food type was 12.196 mg for candied products, 9.210 mg for solid tea, 9.154 mg for liquid tea, and 3.659 mg for red ginseng beverages, in that order.

Shin Yong-seung, director of the Seoul Institute of Health and Environment Research, said, “Red ginseng products range from red ginseng tea to concentrates, so we recommend checking the labeling first.” He added, “Since products made from red ginseng may have different functional ingredient contents depending on the food type and product form, we hope consumers choose products that match appropriate efficacy and intake purposes.”

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