[Sportschosun reporter Jang Jong-ho] Reports of adverse events occurring after the consumption of health functional foods have exceeded 18,000 over the past five years. Last year, the number reached 5,250, the highest ever recorded. In particular, 32 cases involved serious adverse events requiring hospitalization or emergency room treatment, as well as frequently reported adverse events logged at least 10 times a month.
According to data obtained by Seo Mihwa, a lawmaker of the Democratic Party of Korea on the Health and Welfare Committee of the National Assembly, from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and the Food Safety Information Service, the Health Functional Food Adverse Event Reporting Center received a total of 18,693 adverse event reports from 2021 through June 2026.
The annual number of reports was recorded as follows: ▲2,064 in 2021, ▲1,835 in 2022, ▲2,342 in 2023, ▲3,611 in 2024, and ▲5,250 in 2025. This represents an approximately 2.5-fold increase from 2,064 cases in 2021 to 5,250 in 2025.
There were also a significant number of serious or repeatedly reported adverse events. Over the past five years, a total of 32 cases involved serious adverse events, including hospitalization and emergency room treatment, or frequently reported adverse events received at least 10 times a month. They included cases in which people developed abnormal symptoms such as skin rashes, hives, headaches, constipation, and abdominal pain after consuming health functional foods and required emergency room treatment.
Among these, two cases were classified as grade 5, meaning that the likelihood of a causal relationship was considered very high and that the public needed to be notified immediately in view of the severity of the symptoms and similar reporting histories. Five cases were classified as grade 4, indicating a high likelihood of a causal relationship. These findings have prompted calls for stronger safety management and follow-up measures for serious or repeatedly reported adverse events.
By symptom type, digestive symptoms such as indigestion were the most common, accounting for 8,578 cases (45.9%). They were followed by ▲skin symptoms such as itching, with 3,438 cases (18.4%), ▲symptoms such as dizziness, with 2,200 cases (11.8%), and ▲other symptoms such as weight gain, with 1,984 cases (10.6%).
By product category, nutritional supplement products accounted for the largest number of reports, with 3,215 cases. They were followed by ▲Lactobacillus gasseri BNR17 (988 cases), ▲DHA/EPA-containing oils (965 cases), ▲lactic acid bacteria/probiotics (611 cases), ▲psyllium dietary fiber (517 cases), and ▲Phosphatidylserine (342 cases).
Seo Mihwa said, "As the health functional food market grows rapidly, the number of adverse event reports is also increasing quickly. For products subject to serious or repeated reports, the causes must be thoroughly investigated and follow-up measures must be taken promptly."
Seo emphasized, "The government must further strengthen the national management system by transparently disclosing investigation results and safety information to the public so that consumers can choose health functional foods with confidence."
Jang Jong-ho, reporter
bellho@sportschosun.com
This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.
