For importers, distributors and OEM partners
A regulatory overview for buyers evaluating Korean suppliers — how approval works, what GMP designation means, and which ingredients carry national approval.
Korea separates functional ingredients into two categories. The distinction matters when you evaluate a supplier's claim.
| Route | Korean term | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Notified | 고시형 | Listed in MFDS public standards. Any manufacturer meeting the specification may use the approved wording. |
| Individually approved | 개별인정형 | Granted to a specific company that submitted its own dossier. Only the approval holder may use that wording. Verify the holder before assuming a supplier can make the claim. |
Healthcito maintains a reference of 1204 approved functional ingredients with recognition numbers, approved daily intake, and the original Korean wording.
MFDS designates manufacturing sites under the Good Manufacturing Practice standard for health functional food. Designation covers the full chain from raw material intake to finished product release.
There are currently 480 designated facilities in operation. When evaluating a supplier, the designation number and the operating status of the manufacturing site are both verifiable against MFDS public records.
Korean manufacturers commonly produce to specification for export markets, adjusting dosage form, potency and labeling to the destination country's requirements. If you are evaluating a formulation for a specific market, the relevant questions are the ingredient's regulatory status in that market, the manufacturing site's certifications, and minimum order quantity.
Healthcito is a regulatory reference and does not sell products. For manufacturing or export inquiries relating to GNM Life, see gnmart.co.kr.
Data source: Ministry of Food and Drug Safety public datasets. Last synchronised 2026-07-22.
No. Approval is valid in South Korea only. Each market applies its own framework, and both ingredient permissibility and label wording must be confirmed locally.
Notified ingredients are listed in public standards and available to any compliant manufacturer. Individually approved ingredients are tied to the company that submitted the dossier; only that company may use the approved wording.
No. The approved wording has regulatory standing only in Korea. Claims for your market must be constructed under your own regulatory framework.
GMP designation is published by MFDS with a designation number, business type, site address and operating status. These records are reproduced on this site.