South Korea Extends Infant Rubber Food-Contact Standards

South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) has extended food-contact standards for rubber teats to infant and young-child rubber articles with similar shapes and uses. Notice No. 2026-72, issued on 30 October 2026, amends the Standards and Specifications for Utensils, Containers and Packaging under Article 9 of the Food Sanitation Act.

The amendment creates a broader infant-rubber category. It applies the existing teat standards to the additional articles rather than setting an identical new limit for every rubber product.

Chemical Limits For Infant Rubber Articles

The amended rubber specifications limit lead and cadmium content to 10 mg/kg each for infant and young-child articles. Other rubber articles retain a limit of 100 mg/kg for each metal.

For infant rubber articles, total migration is limited to 40 mg/L and zinc migration to 1 mg/L. The corresponding limits for other rubber articles are 60 mg/L and 15 mg/L. The infant category also carries limits of 0.01 mg/kg for the specified nitrosamines and 0.1 mg/kg for nitrosamine-forming substances.

The amended use-specific provision extends the 0.5% total volatile-substances limit from rubber teats to the broader infant-rubber category.

Commencement And Transitional Arrangements

The notice took effect on its date of issue, 30 October 2026. It applies from the first manufacture, processing or import after commencement, with shipment date determining applicability for imports. Inspections already underway under the previous notice continue under the former provisions.

MFDS’s publication record records an earlier consultation from 8 January to 9 March 2026 and a food-additives committee review on 19 March. The October notice is the adopted amendment following that process.