Consumer Agency: "Braille Labeling Rate for Beverages, Cup Noodles, and Milk Only 37.7%... Need to Improve Information Access Rights for Visually Impaired"

Survey results from 192 visually impaired individuals who responded to the Korea Consumer Agency.

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jinyoung] The Korea Consumer Agency announced on the 14th that the braille labeling rate for information such as product names and expiration dates on major food items like beverages, cup noodles, and milk is low at 37.7%, causing inconvenience for visually impaired consumers.

As a result of investigating whether braille labeling was present on a total of 321 products including beverages, cup noodles, and milk from 14 domestic food manufacturers, it was found that only 121 products (37.7%) from 9 companies had braille labeling.

Since braille labeling on food is not currently legally mandatory, there was a significant difference in braille labeling rates depending on the business operator and product type. Among the 7 beverage manufacturers surveyed, Lotte Chilsung Beverage had the highest braille labeling rate at 64.5%, and among the 4 cup noodle manufacturers surveyed, Ottogi Ramen had the highest rate at 63.2%.

Looking at product types, 49.2% (94 out of 191) of beverages had braille labeling. Among cans, 89.9% (80 out of 89) had braille, while only 13.7% (14 out of 102) of PET bottles had braille, showing a large difference depending on container material. For cup noodles, 28.9% (26 out of 90) had braille labeling, and for milk, only 1 out of 40 products (Seoul Milk, 3ℓ) had braille labeling, showing a lower rate compared to beverages.

Even when braille labeling was present, readability was poor. A detailed investigation of 121 products with braille labeling showed that among beverages (94 products), 85.1% (80 products) were labeled only as ‘beverage’ or ‘carbonated’ without the product name, and only 14.9% (14 products) displayed the product name.

Expiration dates were not labeled on any of the products surveyed, increasing the risk for visually impaired consumers of consuming spoiled food during storage after purchase compared to the general public.

In a survey of 192 visually impaired individuals, 83.3% reported inconvenience with canned and PET bottled beverages, 74.0% with cup noodles, and 67.7% with milk products regarding braille labeling. The main reason for inconvenience was the absence of braille labeling, with 71.9% for beverages, 67.6% for cup noodles, and 75.4% for milk products, indicating a need for improvement across all categories.

The Korea Consumer Agency stated, “To enhance the convenience of visually impaired consumers, we recommended that the surveyed businesses make efforts to activate braille labeling on food products and improve readability,” and added, “We also plan to provide related information through social networking services (SNS) to emphasize the necessity of braille labeling on food.”

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