MFDS Cracks Down on Promotional Posts Claiming 'Helps with Hair Loss'
Regardless of age or gender, hair loss is spreading, causing distress across various age groups, and it is widely known that 'Hong Sam' (Korean Red Ginseng) is good for preventing hair loss. In the past, various domestic and international clinical trials and studies have proven the efficacy of Hong Sam in improving hair loss. The problem lies in products that exploit this by packaging items that are ineffective in preventing hair loss as if they have positive effects.
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) and others announced that they will continue cracking down on false and exaggerated advertisements online that promote general foods like Hong Sam candy as helpful for preventing hair loss.
On the 14th, Newsis reported that the MFDS requests the Korea Communications Standards Commission and others to block access to advertisements that use disease names such as alopecia areata, atopy, and rhinitis to claim that general foods prevent or treat these diseases. They also request administrative actions from the relevant local governments.
If general foods are labeled or advertised as having efficacy in preventing or treating diseases, the first violation results in a 15-day business suspension and disposal of the product. For second and third violations, the business suspension periods increase to one month and two months, respectively. The same suspension standards apply to labels or advertisements that may cause confusion with pharmaceuticals.
Products that advertised general foods like Hong Sam candy as effective for preventing hair loss were also blocked from online shopping access due to false and exaggerated advertising. This was because Hong Sam candy, sold as a general food without functionality, was exploited. Since Hong Sam candy manufactured as a general food differs from health functional foods made from Hong Sam, consumers need to verify this when purchasing.
Hong Sam is known to have advantages that can improve overall health, as it is expected to have additional effects such as hair loss treatment, immune system enhancement, fatigue recovery, improved blood circulation, relief of menopausal symptoms, and memory improvement.
To experience these effects, it is necessary to first check whether the Hong Sam-related product uses functional ingredients made from ginseng aged four years or more. The daily intake of ginsenosides is set according to the recognized functionality.
The daily intake of ginsenosides by functionality is ▲ helping to boost immunity and improve fatigue (3?80 mg) ▲ helping to improve blood flow, memory, and antioxidant effects through platelet aggregation inhibition (2.4?80 mg) ▲ helping the health of menopausal women (25?80 mg).
Even if a Hong Sam product is classified as a health functional food, it should not be assumed to be good unconditionally. Currently, there are no health functional foods recognized for efficacy or effectiveness in preventing or treating hair loss. The MFDS emphasized, "There are no health functional foods recognized to help prevent or treat hair loss," and added, "Do not blindly trust foods claiming hair loss-related efficacy that are imported through overseas direct purchase."
Meanwhile, the MFDS plans to establish an artificial intelligence (AI)-based system this year to quickly block and take action against illegal distribution, false and exaggerated advertisements of foods, drugs, and narcotics online to prevent consumer harm. This system will continuously monitor online activities and swiftly block violations to build a surveillance system.
The MFDS established a Cyber Investigation Team in 2018 and laid the foundation for online management of food and drugs. Through this, it has monitored and blocked about 500,000 cases of illegal distribution and unfair advertisements to prevent consumer damage to date.
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