Consumers will soon be able to buy cleaning agents and rinse aids in the exact quantities they want, while some sanitary products such as disposable chopsticks, spoons and dishcloths can be sold in repackaged portions. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety plans to establish related business systems to expand eco-friendly consumption and lower entry barriers for new businesses.
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced Wednesday that it has given advance notice of proposed amendments to the enforcement decree and enforcement rules of the Sanitary Products Management Act, which contain operating standards for sanitary product repackaging businesses and consumer refill sales businesses. The move is a follow-up to the Sanitary Products Management Act revised last December, aimed at establishing detailed standards ahead of the law's implementation on Dec. 31.
Under the amendments, cleaning agents and rinse aids can be sold in the amounts consumers need without separate packaging. In addition, disposable chopsticks, spoons, forks, knives, disposable towels and dishcloths, which have no microbial specifications, will be allowed to be repackaged and sold in portions.
In line with the introduction of the system, the ministry has also established facility standards and hygiene management compliance requirements for business operators. The aim is to clearly define management standards to ensure hygiene and safety during the refill and repackaging processes.
The scope of the consumer refill sales business will also be expanded. Refill sales will be permitted on a temporary basis not only at business premises but also at exhibition halls and local event venues.
In addition, to enable swift recall of products with safety concerns, business operators who receive a recall order will be required to publish an emergency recall notice — containing the product name, manufacturing date, reason and method of recall, and business operator information — in daily newspapers and on their own websites. The amendments also establish a basis for entrusting survey and research tasks needed for policy-making, such as tracking sanitary product production performance.
The ministry expects that the system improvements will lower entry barriers for new businesses while reducing unnecessary use of packaging materials, thereby contributing to resource circulation policy. The amendments will be finalized after gathering opinions through Aug. 18.
