[Click! Health] Increasing 'Geongisik Direct Purchase'... Thorough Verification Needed

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] Recently, direct overseas purchases through online channels have surged, and the number of cases buying health functional foods (geongisik) through direct overseas purchase is also increasing. It is becoming a popular purchasing method as many limiting factors such as slow delivery and complicated payment processes are resolved, allowing consumers to purchase high-quality overseas famous brand products at reasonable prices. However, since food can greatly affect health and safety, more careful attention is required when purchasing overseas brand products.

When purchasing overseas brand products, it is best to buy geongisik that has received official import clearance certification recognized by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. Since these products are officially imported and manufactured, they undergo safety inspections during import, and products that pass these inspections display the manufacturer’s name, raw material names, expiration date, etc., in Korean. If there is no Korean labeling, the product may contain ingredients banned by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, and even if consumers suffer damage as a result, it may be difficult to receive legal protection and compensation.

If you want to buy geongisik directly through overseas direct purchase, it is also good to visit the 'Overseas Direct Purchase Food ALL Baro' website. You can check hazard information by searching product names. It is a platform that gathers geongisik-related information scattered across various domestic agencies such as Food Safety Korea (Ministry of Food and Drug Safety), Korea Customs Service website, Consumer24 (Fair Trade Commission), and International Trade Consumer Portal (Korea Consumer Agency). If information about the product you want to purchase is found under the 'Customs Blocked Products' section on the website, it means that hazardous ingredients were detected and customs blocked the clearance, so you should reconsider the purchase.

When making direct overseas purchases or using purchasing agents, it is necessary to carefully check related business information. When making direct purchases, it is good to search the manufacturer’s website to check the company history and verify whether they have many years of experience and expertise in manufacturing geongisik. Additionally, when using purchasing agents, checking the seller’s Q&A page and review page to see if the company has any issues is another way. Also, if the company informs in advance that exchanges, returns, or refunds are not possible due to international shipping, consumers are considered to have agreed to this, making compensation difficult if problems arise later, so it is good to check for such points as well. If you are worried about these issues related to purchasing overseas geongisik, you can also consider buying through a trusted specialized platform.

Park So-yeon, director in charge of overseas business at the comprehensive health & wellness platform Onnuri Store, said, “For example, probiotics, which are sensitive to temperature and humidity, significantly decrease in number if stored at room temperature for a long time, and it is difficult to guarantee safety if purchased through unverified sources,” adding, “When purchasing geongisik through overseas direct purchase, please thoroughly check whether it is distributed refrigerated or if it is an officially cleared imported product.”

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