Quarantine

Inspection

Quality Control

About NFQS

Beloved seafood, reliable quality control from sea to table.

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Purpose

  • To protect producers and consumers by marking place of origin leading to safeguarding consumers’ rights to know and encouraging fair trade

Legal Basis

  • Article 5.1 of Act on Origin Labeling of Agricultural and Fishery Products
  • Notification No.2013-183 of the MOF (Origin Labeling of Agricultural and Fishery Products)

Persons on Duty

  • Producers and processors of fish & fishery products and processed food
  • Seller of fish & fishery products and processed food at department store, supermarket, wholesale market and traditional market
  • Seller of fish & fishery products and processed food on TV home shopping channel, online market and newspaper
  • Producers, distributors and sellers of edible salt

Objects for Place of Origin System

  • All fish and fishery products processed, distributed and sold for consumption
  • Refer to Appendix 2 of Notification of Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Place of Origin Labelling)

    247 items: 191 domestic and pelagic fishery products, 37 processed products and 19 imported products

    Salt is included in the objects for place of origin system (enforced since Feb. 11th, 2011)

Labelling Standard

  • Domestic fishery productsKorean or offshore
  • Distant-water fishery productsdistant water (or with name of the sea)
  • Processed fishery productsplace of origin of the ingredient used
  • Imported fishery productsname of importing country (place of origin in case of customs clearance)

Labelling Principle

  • Labels should be printed on the package or attached as sticker (including one made by electronic scale
  • Tags are attached on the products or details are marked on stickers, signposts, or containers in the event of fishery products without packaging
  • Signposts are used for storage facilities (i.e. aquarium) for live fish and fishery products. Domestic and imported products with the same name should separately be marked

History of the system

  • Imported fish and fishery productssince Jan. 1st, 1994 (live fish included since Sep. 1st, 2004)
  • Domestic fish and fishery productssince Jan. 1st, 1995 (live fish included since Jul. 1st, 2002)
  • Processed fish and fishery productssince Jan. 1st, 1996 (retort pouch food included since Sep. 1st, 2004)
  • Transplant fisherysince Jan. 1st, 2009 (notification of the minister on labelling standard and principle)
  • Edible saltsince Feb. 11th, 2011 (Act on Origin Labeling of Agricultural and Fishery Products)