A Study on the Reduction of Consumer Problems Caused by the Side-effect of Functional Health Foods

건강관련식품 부작용피해 방지를 위한 개선방안

The purpose of this study is to reduce the side effect of functional health foods. The research is done by in-depth interview method. The nineteen officials who worked in local administration or KFDA(Korea Food & Drug Administration) were interviewed. The questions were asked regarding the current status of consumer reports related to functional health foods, the problems which officials perceived, and the regulations required to reduce the problems. The findings are as follows: 1) the consumers report the side effect of functional health foods to nongovernmental organization. 2) officials feel that the problems are the difficulty in finding the cause of the side effect, unjust sale tactics, deceptive and small-sized manufacturers. and the distorted consumer conception on functional health foods. 3) officials think that improvement on the regulations are required to reduce the problems caused by the side effects. It includes the indication of the ingredient's origin and warnings considering physical conditions, close cowork between administration and nongovernmental organization. introduction of sales license for functional health foods and the increase of the opportunity for consumers to get information and education on functional health foods.