This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz RM Report website at 7:31 a.m., Dec. 19, 2025.
The Ministery of Food and Drug Safety will tighten the standard for sugar alcohols used in children's favorite foods. The key is to lower the upper limit for sugar alcohol use in foods for children to less than 10%. As sugar alcohols are widely used as sugar substitute sweeteners, the aim is to manage children's intake safety more conservatively.
According to related industries on the 19th, the Ministery of Food and Drug Safety on the 5th gave administrative notice of a partial revision to the Quality Certification Standards for Children's Favorite Foods reflecting these details. The Ministery of Food and Drug Safety will accept comments on the revision until the 26th. Previously, only candy products were allowed a total sugar alcohol use of 20% or less, but this revision strengthens the standard to about half.
Sugar alcohols are sweeteners mainly used in sugar-free or low-sugar products because they have fewer calories than sugar or cause a gentler rise in blood sugar. Although the word alcohol is in the name, they are completely different from ethanol related to drinking; chemically, they are a type of carbohydrate. They are characterized by being made by adding hydrogen to the sugar structure. Their use is expanding to beverages and health functional foods, including children's favorite foods such as gum, candy and jelly. Among consumers, they are often perceived as relatively light sweeteners that replace sugar.
Under the revision, when using sugar alcohols such as lactitol, mannitol, D-maltitol, maltitol syrup, D-sorbitol, D-sorbitol solution, erythritol, isomalt, xylitol and polyglycitol syrup in children's favorite foods, the total amount used must be less than 10%. For maltitol syrup, D-sorbitol solution and polyglycitol syrup, the standard is applied based on the actual content of maltitol and sorbitol contained in the product. It is also linked to labeling and advertising rules that mandate warning statements when used above certain amounts.
Major countries overseas also recognize sugar alcohols as food ingredients, but their management approaches differ. The United States, the European Union (EU) and Canada focus on nutrition labeling and alerting consumers to the risk of excessive intake, rather than banning the use of sugar alcohols outright or setting a uniform upper limit on the usage ratio for children's foods.
The United States requires that the amount of sugar alcohols be listed on the Nutrition Facts label, and the EU also notes in its safety assessment that excessive intake of sugar alcohols may cause gastrointestinal side effects. In contrast, Korea numerically limits the amount of sugar alcohols used under the children's favorite foods certification standards and adopts a more preventive regulatory approach by linking mandatory warning statements when the amount exceeds a certain level.
Because sugar alcohols are not fully absorbed in the small intestine and move to the large intestine, consuming more than a certain amount can cause gastrointestinal side effects such as abdominal bloating, diarrhea and stomach pain. Adults may also experience discomfort if they consume too much, but given that children have lower body weight and immature digestive function, the potential impact may be relatively greater, and the need for management has been consistently raised. In particular, because products such as candy, gum and jelly are easy to consume several at a time, unintended sugar alcohol intake can quickly accumulate.
An official in the food industry said, "With this tightening of the standards, the burden on corporations to maintain the Children's Favorite Foods Quality Certification will increase," adding, "As recipe changes and production process adjustments become unavoidable to meet the sugar alcohol standards, this could pose a significant expense burden, especially for small and midsize companies. Companies that hold large inventories of raw and subsidiary materials will also incur disposal costs." Another industry official said, "While it is inevitable that it will cost money to find alternative ingredients, products certified under the Children's Favorite Foods Quality Certification do not account for a large share of all products, so we are steadily focusing on research and development."
The Ministery of Food and Drug Safety plans to raise the level of safety management for children's favorite foods through this tightening of standards and reduce concerns about excessive consumption of sugar-free foods.