The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety will check foreign-bought gummies andsnacks for narcotics this and next month. (Credit: Getty Images)
The Korean government will begin testing food bought from overseas websites twice a year after banned drug ingredients were found in gummies, sweets, drinks, and other products sold online.
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) will test 30 items from May to June, the ministry's Advanced Analysis Division told Korea Biomedical Review.
The checks will focus on foods sold through overseas online malls in countries where cannabis is legal, or products containing controlled substances are easier to buy.
An official from the ministry’s Imported Food Safety Division said the checks were prompted by concerns that consumers could buy products that looked like ordinary snacks without realizing they contained controlled substances.
In some cases, Koreans ate such products, went to the hospital, and later tested positive for cannabis, the official said.
The checks will cover 55 controlled substances, including cannabis-related compounds such as CBD and THC, as well as amphetamine and mitragynine.
The ministry will also check product labels against Korea’s import-block list, which now includes 312 ingredients, including narcotics, pharmaceutical ingredients, and other substances considered a potential health risk.
Officials will select products based on where they are sold and how they are marketed, including drug-related words, slang, drawings, or symbols used on overseas websites.
“These are products that look like food, but may contain those substances,” the official said.
The MFDS said it would also look for products that do not clearly list narcotic ingredients but are advertised in a way that suggests they may contain cannabis, synthetic cannabis compounds, or other drug-related substances.
The move follows a 2024 inspection in which all 34 suspected overseas food products tested by the ministry were found to contain narcotic substances or ingredients blocked from import.
The products included gummies, candies, drinks, chocolates, snacks, teas, capsule coffee, and dietary supplements.
A similar inspection was carried out in 2025. This year’s program is the first under a formal twice-yearly plan, following legal changes that took effect in January.
The revised law requires the government to test overseas food purchases suspected of containing narcotic ingredients and publish information on products found to contain them at least once a year.
The MFDS has been expanding checks as cross-border food orders rise. In a February release, it said overseas direct food purchases reached 24.93 million cases in 2024, up from 17.7 million in 2020.
The ministry added that it would increase annual purchase-and-testing checks from 3,400 in 2024 to 6,000 in 2025.
Kim Ji-hye
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