The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has cracked down on 225 online posts that promoted general foods as if they were health functional foods or advertised them as having disease-treatment effects. One in every two cases involved ads that misled consumers into mistaking general foods for health functional foods.
The ministry said Monday that it had identified 225 posts violating the Act on Labeling and Advertising of Foods, following a joint inspection with local governments last month of food and health functional food advertisements sold on online shopping malls and other platforms. The ministry requested that the Korea Communications Standards Commission and others block access to the posts, and referred them to the relevant authorities for administrative penalties.
The inspection targeted habitual violators that repeatedly ran illegal or improper advertisements online. Among the types of ads identified, the largest share involved ads that misled or confused consumers into mistaking general foods for health functional foods. A total of 104 cases, or 46.2% of the total, were caught. A representative example involved using expressions such as "nutritional supplement" or "immunity boost" on general foods to make consumers perceive them as health functional foods.
Cases of advertising general foods as if they had disease-prevention or treatment effects reached 84 (37.3%). These involved using expressions such as "improves constipation" or "relieves reflux esophagitis" to promote general foods as if they had disease-treatment effects.
In addition, 19 cases (8.5%) of consumer-deceiving ads that exaggerated efficacy using consumer reviews or testimonials were caught. Ads that misled consumers into mistaking products for medicines, such as "diet pills" or "liver medicine," totaled 10 cases (4.4%), while false or exaggerated ads touting effects on bodily functions, such as "skin elasticity" or "swelling management," numbered 8 cases (3.6%).
The ministry urged consumers to always check for the health functional food certification mark and whether functionality has been approved when purchasing health functional foods. It explained that even if a general food contains a specific ingredient or component, this does not mean the food itself has been recognized as having functionality.
"We will cooperate with relevant agencies to swiftly share information on new types of improper online advertising and repeatedly occurring violations," a ministry official said. "We will continue conducting inspections to prevent consumer harm from improper food advertising."
