Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs: "Senior-Friendly Excellent Foods Proven to Improve Nutrition and Health"

Last Year’s Empirical Study on Elderly Health Impact Conducted
Published in SCI Journal 'Nutrients'

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs confirmed the health improvement effects of elderly-friendly foods through a demonstration project.

On the 28th, the Ministry announced that providing meals using elderly-friendly excellent foods has been proven effective in improving the nutrition and health status of the elderly through a demonstration project. The results of this study were published in the latest issue of the international SCI journal Nutrients.

Elderly-friendly excellent foods are products manufactured and processed by adjusting physical properties, form, and ingredients to aid the elderly in intake, nutritional supplementation, digestion, and absorption, thereby enhancing usability.

Last year, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs conducted the "Elderly-Friendly Food Demonstration Project" with the Korea Food Industry Cluster Promotion Agency to prove the health improvement effects of elderly-friendly excellent foods. For five months, elderly individuals aged 65 and older receiving home-delivered meals were provided with elderly-friendly diets and regular diets, and the impact on their nutrition and health status was observed. The results confirmed that providing elderly-friendly diets significantly increased intake of energy, protein, and folate, positively affecting the nutrition and health status of the elderly. These research findings were published in an academic journal.

The Ministry, together with the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, has designated a total of 113 products from 25 companies, including Hyundai Green Food, Shinsegae Food, and Pulmuone, as elderly-friendly excellent foods. The elderly-friendly excellent food designation system comprehensively evaluates product hardness, viscosity, nutritional content, and consideration for the elderly, categorizing products into three levels based on physical properties (Level 1: chewable with teeth - Level 2: chewable with gums - Level 3: swallowable with the tongue) for designation and management as excellent foods. Products designated as excellent foods may use the excellent food label during distribution.

Yang Ju-pil, Food Industry Policy Officer at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, stated, "We will continue to seek ways to link elderly-friendly excellent foods with public meal systems for seniors and expand support for companies developing customized foods for the elderly, striving to revitalize the elderly-friendly food industry."

Nine Pulmuone Foodmorse products designated as Korea's first senior-friendly excellent foods.