Food Recalls in Korea: Check the Package, Not Just the Name
Official lookup checked October 18, 2026 · Korea Standard Time
If food you bought in Korea appears in a recall headline, set it aside while you compare the official notice with your package to determine whether your specific product is affected. Check the exact product, business and dates—not just a familiar brand name. For an affected product, follow the notice’s instruction to stop consumption and contact the product’s customer service or return it to the place of purchase.
The detail that settles the question may be on the back of the packet, not in the headline. Keeping the package beside the full notice makes it easier to avoid treating an entire brand, or a different production run, as the recalled item.
Open the official list and search the Korean label
- Open Food Safety Korea’s recall and sales-suspension list (Korean). The menu name is 회수·판매중지.
- Under 검색구분, choose 제품명 for product name or 영업자 for the business. Enter the Korean wording printed on the package, then select 검색. The menu also offers recall-reason and food-category searches; those results still need to be compared with your package.
- Open the matching item. Read the complete target description as well as the summary fields and any available product photos.
The public list and a detail notice opened without login in this check. Viewing a notice is different from subscribing to recall alerts or filing a report; those separate procedures were not tested. The page can also initially look empty while results load. An empty first screen is not proof that there are no recalls.
Match the details that identify your package
| Korean label | What to compare | Common mix-up |
|---|---|---|
| 제품명 | The exact product name and its photo. | A similar name or shared brand is not the complete target description. |
| 영업자 / 회수영업자 | Identify the business named in the notice and compare the relevant manufacturer, importer or distributor information on your package. These roles do not necessarily refer to the same business. | The shop where you paid may not be the manufacturing or importing business. |
| 유통기한 / 소비기한 / 제조일자 | The sell-by date, use-by date or manufacturing date, whichever the notice specifies for identifying the recalled product. | Do not substitute the manufacturing date for the date the notice actually targets. |
| 등록일 | The date the notice was posted. | This is not the food’s manufacturing or use-by date. |
| 바코드번호 · 포장단위 | The barcode and package size, alongside the other stated conditions. | A barcode match alone does not replace the rest of the comparison. |
| Full target description | Any stated production, date, lot or other target range. | Not every notice supplies a lot number. Do not invent a missing value. |
If a date field says 미표시 (“not marked”), or gives a period measured from manufacture, read the notice’s full text. In the detail checked for this guide, a summary date field was “not marked” while the body supplied a specific target date. A blank or unusual field should lead you to the explanation, not to guessing the missing date.
If your package matches the recall
Follow the consumer instruction on that notice. The detail reviewed here says to stop consumption and contact the customer service shown on the product or return it to the place of purchase. A remaining use-by period or normal appearance is not a reason to disregard the recall.
Keep the package and its identifying details available when contacting the seller or recalling business. A clear photo of the label and any purchase record you already have can help identify the item. Ask that contact how the return is handled rather than assuming every shop offers the same refund or exchange process.
If the search finds nothing, or the label is hard to read
Recheck the selected search field and the Korean product or business name. Use the current official notice rather than an old screenshot or translated headline alone. If you still cannot identify the package, contact the product’s customer service or the seller with the label details.
Finding no matching notice does not establish that a product is safe. The list records published recall and sales-suspension information for food distributed in Korea, not a general safety rating.
Based on public recall notices checked online; no purchase, return or refund was tested. 日本語版：韓国で買った食品の回収対象を調べる. The related Korean guide is retained. More practical guides are in Life in Korea.
Related: Product Recalls in Korea: Match the Model and Business.