"Bought with Trust, but Deceived"... One in Four Quantity-Labeled Products Contains Less than Indicated

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It has been found that, on average, one out of every four pre-packaged quantity-labeled products sold in the market-such as toilet paper, snacks, milk, and alcoholic beverages-is packaged with less content than the amount indicated on the label. The government has announced plans to protect consumers by improving regulations and strengthening post-market monitoring.

The Korea Agency for Technology and Standards under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on April 12, 2026, that it had surveyed 1,002 quantity-labeled products (with three samples per item) and found that 25% of them contained less than the indicated amount on average.

Quantity-labeled products are those with packaging that specifies measurements such as "500g" or "1.5L" for length, mass, or volume. Under the current "Measurement Act," it is prohibited for the actual content to fall below the labeled amount by more than a permitted range.

By item, products with the highest rates of deviation from the legal tolerance were frozen seafood (9%), seaweed (7.7%), soy sauce and vinegar (7.1%), and sanitary/household goods (5.7%).

Beverages and alcoholic drinks had the highest percentage of products with an average content below the labeled amount at 44.8%, followed by beans (36.8%), milk (32.4%), and soy sauce and vinegar (31.0%).

However, the proportion of products that actually exceeded the legal tolerance in this survey was 2.8%, indicating that, overall, legal standards were observed.

These figures are analyzed to result from some manufacturers taking advantage of the system by reducing contents within the legal tolerance limits.

To address these issues, the government is promoting legislative amendments, including the introduction of an "average amount standard." While the current law only requires compliance with the tolerance range, the proposed revision would add a requirement that the average content must not be less than the labeled amount.

Post-market monitoring will also be significantly strengthened. Although the market size for quantity-labeled products is estimated at around 400 trillion won, only about 1,000 products are inspected annually, raising concerns about the effectiveness of oversight. In response, the government plans to expand the number of products inspected to more than 10,000 per year.

Kim Daeja, Director of the Korea Agency for Technology and Standards, stated, "Quantity-labeled products are closely related to everyday life. By introducing the concept of average content and strengthening post-market monitoring, we will ensure that the content of daily necessities is accurately maintained."

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