MFDS Automates Imported Food Document Review Digitally

Implementation of 'Jeonjasimsa24'

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced on the 4th that it will operate the 'Electronic Review 24' system from the 14th, which automatically inspects and approves imported foods that have no safety issues.

This system is the first case of fully automating administrative tasks using digital technology. It was promoted as part of the 'Digital-based Imported Food Safety Management Innovation Plan,' which was discussed and finalized at last year's National Policy Issues Ministers' Meeting.

To efficiently carry out import inspection tasks with limited inspection personnel, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety introduced a system that automatically conducts electronic reviews and approvals based on consistent rules throughout the entire process from import declaration receipt to approval.

The 'Electronic Review 24' operating system conducts an electronic review where, upon submission of the import declaration by the business operator, the computerized system automatically examines about 260 items such as initial import inspection history, use of prohibited substances, and non-compliance history. If the review result is suitable, an import declaration confirmation certificate is automatically issued.

The automatic import declaration approval applies only to food items with low risk of hazards and those imported repeatedly. The Ministry plans to first apply it to food additives and gradually expand the applicable items to agricultural, livestock, and marine products, as well as processed foods.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has established legal grounds to enable automatic import declaration approval using 'Electronic Review 24.' To improve the approval rate and accuracy of import declarations, a pilot project was conducted for about 10 months to verify the proper operation of the system.

With the introduction of this system, document inspections, which were previously only possible during working hours, will be available 24 hours a day. The processing time, which used to take 48 hours, will be reduced to within 5 minutes at most.

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