Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Establishes 'Heuksam' Ingredient Standards... "Expecting to Pioneer New Ginseng Market"

Partial Amendment to the Enforcement Rules of the Insam Industry Act to be Promulgated and Enforced on the 16th

The government has established component standards for "Heuksam," which is fresh ginseng that has been steamed and dried three or more times without processing after harvest.

On the 15th, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced that it posted and enacted a partial amendment to the "Ginseng Industry Act Enforcement Rules" on the official gazette on the 16th, mainly setting component standards for Heuksam and improving related systems.

Heuksam is a type of ginseng that has a dark brown or blackish-brown color. A ministry official explained, "The ginsenoside components, which are abundant in Heuksam, are being studied in academia for their different effects compared to red ginseng," adding, "Research results have been reported on anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, anti-cancer, and anti-arteriosclerosis effects."

Until now, Heuksam has been classified as a type of ginseng since the 2012 revision of the Ginseng Industry Act. However, due to diverse opinions from the industry and insufficient scientific evidence, only manufacturing standards were set without component standards, causing confusion among consumers.

Accordingly, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, in collaboration with the Rural Development Administration, conducted standardization and empirical research on Heuksam (2018?2022) and gathered industry opinions to newly establish ginsenoside component standards for Heuksam: Rg3 at 0.1% or higher, and the combined total of Rk1+Rg5 at 0.2% or higher. Additionally, manufacturing standards were improved to reduce benzo[a]pyrene, a safety concern for Heuksam, by setting the drying temperature at 60℃ or below. Benzo[a]pyrene, classified as a Group 1 carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, is generated by the charring of carbohydrates and proteins during high-temperature heating processes.

Since the component standards for Heuksam, which is mainly used as a raw material in products, have been established, the ministry plans to consult with the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety to create new Heuksam specifications for health functional foods based on ongoing research results on Heuksam’s efficacy conducted by the Rural Development Administration.

Furthermore, the partial amendment reflects the deletion of the cutting surface standards for Jeolpyeonsam (thinly sliced ginseng processed by horizontally cutting ginseng varieties), which had been requested by ginseng processing companies, aiming to reduce the burden on companies and lower manufacturing costs.

Kim Jong-gu, Director of Distribution and Consumer Policy at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, said, "By setting component standards for ginseng, we expect this to serve as an opportunity to support the discovery of new forms of the ginseng market and expand the overall size of the ginseng market," adding, "We will continue to strive to identify tasks for promoting ginseng consumption and developing the ginseng industry."

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