'Functional Ingredient Bank' Completed: "Supporting Product Development with Suitable Ingredient Recommendations by Product Type"

The 'Functional Ingredient Bank,' which supports the development of functional food products by recommending raw materials suitable for product types, consulting on prototype development and evaluation, and functional food labeling approval, has begun operations.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced that the completion ceremony for the Functional Ingredient Bank located in Iksan, Jeonbuk, will be held on the 19th.

The Functional Ingredient Bank is a facility equipped with infrastructure to produce, store, and standardize functional food materials derived from domestic agricultural products and support companies. It is equipped with over 200 pieces of equipment, including systems for producing and processing functional ingredients and high-resolution mass spectrometers for standardizing raw materials.

The main building, which was selected as the final site in Iksan-si, Jeonbuk, through a public project by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs in 2020 and started construction in August 2022, was completed with a total project cost of 15 billion KRW (10.5 billion KRW national funds and 4.5 billion KRW local funds). It is located within the National Food Cluster, with a total floor area of 1,872㎡, one basement floor, and three above-ground floors.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the domestic and international health functional food market has grown from 3 trillion KRW in 2018 to 5.4 trillion KRW in 2022, showing an average annual growth rate of 15.1%. Additionally, since the implementation of the 'General Food Functional Labeling System' in December 2020, which allows functionality to be labeled on general foods, 379 functional food products have been registered as of June, indicating strong interest from companies and consumers.

The Functional Ingredient Bank plans to support the development of functional food products by building related infrastructure and equipment so that companies can receive various domestic functional ingredients, recommending raw materials suitable for product types, supporting prototype development and evaluation, and consulting on functional food labeling approval.

Yang Ju-pil, Food Industry Policy Officer at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, said, "We hope that small food companies can easily produce and receive domestic functional ingredients through the Functional Ingredient Bank," adding, "We will support creating a virtuous cycle that benefits farm economies through the high value-added processing of domestic agricultural products."