According to the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), Korea’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) published new import health requirements (IHRs) for U.S. pet food on January 14, 2025. The updated guidelines allow U.S. pet food products containing ruminant ingredients — previously banned since 2003 — to be imported into Korea, provided they meet the new standards for animal ingredients, production conditions and manufacturing facility inspections.
Products that were exported to Korea within the past year can continue to use their existing health certificates until December 31, 2025, while new-to-market products must comply with the revised IHRs.
The new guidelines require that pet food manufacturing facilities in the U.S. be inspected by the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to ensure compliance, while Korea’s Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency (APQA) will coordinate with the exporting country’s authorities to verify that the facility meets the new criteria. These changes follow earlier U.S. requests to resume market access for pet food with ruminant ingredients, with expanded efforts initiated in 2018 based on updated risk assessments for diseases such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).
The full Korean text of the IHRs is available through the National Legislation Information Center and the MAFRA Announcement from January 14. A side-by-side English translation provided by MAFRA can be found here.
For more information on Korea’s pet food market and practical considerations for exporters, please refer to the 2024 South Korea Pet Food Report.
Adapted from a USDA report.
