Hypertension, lung disease, liver disease, inflammatory bowel disease, electrolyte replacement, etc.
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, Oh Yoo-gyeong) decided to expand the standard manufacturing standards for foods for special medical use to 12 by adding five more, including △ hypertension, △ lung disease, △ liver disease, inflammatory bowel disease, and △electrolyte supplementation.
Food for special medical use refers to food that is manufactured / processed for the purpose of providing nutrition that differs from the general public due to disease, etc. to people in need of nutrition.
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety plans to gradually prepare additional standards by 2026. Currently, seven types of standard manufacturing standards are being prepared for general patients, for diabetes patients, for kidney disease patients , for cancer patients, for intestinal disease patients, for supplying calories and nutrients, and for those with dysphagia.
The Food and Drug Administration said, “This plan is part of the ‘Food and Drug Administration Innovation Plan’ announced in July, and it expands the options for patients with various diseases by preparing standards safety is pre-emptive which reflects the market demand for food It will lay the foundation for the new growth of the food industry,” he explained.
Meanwhile, in order to develop customized food for patients with diseases for which standard manufacturing standards have not been established, manufacturers had to prepare their own demonstration data.
In terms of food standards for special medical use, △food for hypertensive patients is a product that helps control blood pressure by setting sodium and potassium content separately, △food for lung disease patients is low in carbohydrates and high in fat, which reduces the respiratory. burden of lung disease patients, △ Food for epileptic patients is a product that reduces the burden on the liver and helps prevent muscle loss by supplying calories and using ingredients such as branched chain amino acids.
In addition, food for patients with inflammatory bowel disease is a product that improves digestion and absorption with hydrolyzed protein and helps maintain intestinal health, and can quickly supply water and electrolytes to the body in case of dehydration or electrolyte imbalance due to high fever or diarrhoea. It also intends to establish standards for water and electrolyte replenishment products.
The Food and Drug Safety Administration intends to make an administrative notification within this year after gathering opinions from the industry on the standard manufacturing standards for products for hypertensive patients and products for water and electrolyte supplements. For the other three types, including those for patients with lung disease, we plan to develop standard manufacturing standards for each product in succession from next year.
The Food and Drug Safety Administration said, “This plan to establish safety standards for patient food not only widens the range of food choices for patients and helps in the treatment and recovery process to improve quality of life, but also lays the foundation for the production of various foods for patients, and it is hoped that it will also help with regeneration.”
This policy from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety states, “If a cost of 1 is invested in design (case table), 10 costs will not be caused in the disease, and if a cost of 10 is invested in prevention (examination) in production, result (hospital treatment cost) of 100 It is based on the so-called 1:10:100 principle that there is no cost, and it is interpreted as “I will reduce medical costs by eating less basic food (salt, rice, sugar).
However, some point out that the Food and Drug Safety Administration’s announcement misses the point on how to improve distribution accessibility so that consumers can easily buy and eat reliable green food.
