Ahead of the college entrance exam, a large number of companies have been caught falsely advertising general foods as "concentration supplements for test-takers" or "Daechi-dong supplements."
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) announced that it has caught 23 companies that exploited the anxiety of test-takers and their parents by advertising general foods as if they help improve concentration and learning abilities, and has requested local governments to take administrative action while also filing complaints against them.
The MFDS stated that the products sold by the companies caught for false advertising amounted to 410,000 boxes, valued at approximately 7.1 billion KRW.
While selling general foods such as processed sugar products, candies, and other processed products, these companies advertised them as having effects in preventing and treating diseases, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
There were also cases where they promoted the products as health functional foods using phrases like "test-taker supplements" and "high school senior supplements."
The MFDS emphasized that the products sold by these false advertising companies are not health functional foods recognized for functionalities such as improving concentration.
In addition, the MFDS investigated the inspected products and found that 10 of them contained guarana extract, which includes caffeine.
An MFDS official advised that caution is needed when consuming caffeine-containing foods, stating, "Some products contained 100 mg of caffeine per pouch, which corresponds to 100% of the daily maximum recommended intake for adolescents weighing 40 kg."
(Photo provided by MFDS, Yonhap News)
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