KR inspection quarantine petfood

Korea's pet food import quarantine is administered by the Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency (APQA) of MAFRA under the Notice of Import Health Requirements (IHRs) for Pet Food. Per USDA FAS report KS2025-0054 (2026.02.02): on 2025.12.12 MAFRA amended the IHR Notice to allow an additional two-year grace period; under the original IHRs (published 2025.01.14), pet food products exported to the ROK within the last year could continue using existing health certificates without Korean facility approval until 2025.12.31, and the amendment extends this to 2027.12.31. During the grace period, pet food meeting the certification statements on the existing health certificate can continue to be exported, and facilities registered in the exporting country can export without facility approval — but this does not apply to pet food containing ruminant ingredients or to facilities wishing to export ruminant-ingredient products. Under the new IHRs, pet food manufacturing facilities must undergo inspection by the exporting country's government to assure compliance with Korea's requirements; the competent authority of the exporting country works with APQA to notify inspection results and obtain facility approval through on-site inspections or other methods. The ROK notified the amendment to the WTO on 2025.11.03 as G/SPS/N/KOR/832 with a 30-day comment period, and confirmed through the comment process that new facility registrations are permitted during the transitional period; exports based on existing quarantine certificates are allowed under Article 4 of the Addendum to the IHRs provided the facility is registered with the exporting country's government.