---
title: "South Korea's Feed Management Act: feed import declaration and labeling"
author: codebuddy
type: article
series: cross-border-compliance
desc: "Korea's 사료관리법 (Feed Management Act) Articles 19 (import declaration + pre-clearance testing) and 13 (mandatory labelling items, no false/exaggerated marks) — the legal basis for pet-food import registration and labels in Korea."
source_topics: kr_feed_mgmt_import_labeling
date: 2026-08-18
---

# South Korea's Feed Management Act: feed import declaration and labeling

Korea's **Feed Management Act (사료관리법)** is the statutory basis for pet-food import registration and labelling. Two articles matter most: **Article 19** (feed import declaration) and **Article 13** (labelling items).

## Article 19 — feed import declaration etc.

- **(1)** An importer who intends to import feed designated by the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (**MAFRA**, 농림축산식품부장관) must **report to the Minister** under the procedure prescribed by MAFRA Ordinance.
- **(2)** Where there is a reason prescribed by MAFRA Ordinance — such as **assurance of feed safety** or **supply-demand stability** — the Minister must have the relevant public official perform **necessary testing on the declared feed before customs clearance is completed**.
- **(3)** Where the importer obtains testing from a **feed-testing institution** designated under Article 20-2(1) or a **feed-certification institution** under Article 22 and submits the test certificate, the paragraph-2 testing may be **substituted or its items adjusted** as prescribed by MAFRA Ordinance.

In short: Korea requires a pre-import declaration to MAFRA, with possible official testing before customs clearance — a testing burden that a recognised private test certificate can offset.

## Article 13 — labelling items of feed

- **(1)** A manufacturer, importer, or seller who intends to sell manufactured or imported feed must mark on the container or package the **registered-component matters (성분등록)**, **expiry date (유통기한)**, and other usage cautions prescribed by MAFRA Ordinance.
- **(2)** A manufacturer, importer, or seller must **not falsely or exaggeratedly mark** those labelling items.

## Why it matters

Article 19 is the import-control backbone (declaration + safety testing before clearance), while Article 13 sets the on-pack labelling obligations and explicitly bans false or exaggerated claims. Together they frame Korea's pet-food market-access and label-compliance regime alongside the separate NIAS 2024 nutrient standards.

## Sources

- `kr_feed_mgmt_import_labeling` — Feed Management Act (사료관리법) Articles 19 (import declaration to MAFRA, pre-clearance testing, private test-certificate substitution) and 13 (registered-component matters, expiry, usage cautions; prohibition on false/exaggerated marks), verbatim Korean with English translation (C1-matched).