The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced on the 20th that it will expand its project to allow consumers to check not only nutritional information of food products but also traceability information through QR codes. Last September, the ministry enabled consumers to view nutritional content, labeling details, cooking methods, and recall information by scanning product QR codes with their smartphone cameras.
For some products, consumers can check ingredient information, nutritional content, labeling details, and cooking methods via QR codes. Additionally, sign language videos are provided for the hearing impaired, and visually impaired individuals can listen to the information converted to audio using built-in smartphone functions. For mandatory items such as infant formula, consumers can verify traceability information at the time of purchase, and industries can replace barcodes attached to logistics units (boxes, pallets, etc.) with QR codes for traceability management.
So far, six companies with a total of 13 products have participated in the pilot project. One participating company will release three products that include traceability information in addition to the existing information.
Furthermore, to ensure smooth application of traceability management using Smart Food QR codes at distribution and sales stages, nine other food retail stores will also participate in the pilot project.
Based on the results of this project, the Ministry plans to provide various food data to consumers and industries and establish a "Digital Food Platform" (K-Food D·N·A) by 2026, which can be utilized for responding to food safety incidents.
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