proposed draft presidential decree and ministerial ordinance of the health functional food act the purpose of the health functional food act is to contribute to the improvement of public health and consumer protection by assuring safety and quality improvement of the health functional food hereafter the food and by establishing the soundness in distributions and sales of the food. health functional food is defined as the manufactured or processed food in the form of tablets capsules powders granules liquid phase and pills using raw materials or ingredients with the function that benefit the human body. the main contents of the proposed draft presidential decree and ministerial ordinance of the act are as follows a manufacturer of the health functional food should obtain the permit from the commissioner of the korean food and drug administration hereafter the commissioner . a food importer and a distributor should report to the commissioner and the mayor or the provincial governor. a person who holds the permit should self-inspect to ensure conformity assessment of criteria and standards of the food manufactured according to the ministerial ordinance of the act. a manufacturer must appoint the quality control manager for quality control facility management and job training for the employed and be qualified as described by the act. a person who wants to import the food for commercial purposes should report to the commissioner as stipulated by the act. the commissioner may if necessary order appropriate inspection of the food by the relevant authority or inspection agency before custom clearance. the commissioner may establish the prior confirmed registration of the imported food. this new program is to provide pre-approval for an imported food after the documentation review including test certification showing the product complies with the relevant korean regulations and on-site inspection. the registration will be given on a product by product basis and excludes fresh products. the product obtaining the pre-registration from the kfda may be imported into korea with document review only. in order to review and investigate the criteria standards labeling advertising and policies on the food in response of the consultation of the minister of health and welfare and the commissioner of the kfda the health functional food review committee shall be established in the ministry of health and welfare. the commissioner should publish good health functional food manufacturing practice containing the criteria on manufacturing and quality control and will provide incentives to the firms observing the regulation. if it is deemed necessary to protect the public health the commissioner may determine and publicly notify the criteria for manufacturing processing and preservation methods and standards for the ingredients of the food. when a businessman advertises and labels the product function he she should consult the advertisement review committee to comply with the national health functional food policies for promoting the public health and protecting the consumer and to reflect a scientific evidence base