On 15 March 2016, General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People's Republic of China (AQSIQ) issued No.5 Risk Warning of 2016 that South Korea would strengthen its supervision on formaldehyde in wood food contact containers, which exporters should deal with due care.

Reportedly, Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) has begun to implement “Examination order” on wood food contact containers exported from China since 29 Feb. 2016 according to South Korea Food Sanitation Act as it found such products from China fall short of standards for several times due to dangerous levels of formaldehyde. “Examination order” requires importers to provide test reports issued by MFDS-accredited lab and the formaldehyde present in products shall be no greater than 4mg/L.

BACL advises exporters of food contact products should keep an eye on stipulations of MFDS and take measures to deal with that.