- Samyang Corporation’s allulose obtains “OU Kosher”… laying a steppingstone for entering the global kosher food market

- Kosher food is synonymous to “clean and safe food” due to its particular certification process

- Obtained “KMF Halal” last February… preemptively seeking various certifications for global expansion

▲ Photograph of Samyang Corporation’s allulose product - Samyang Corporation’s allulose is preemptively obtaining various global certifications and authorizations.

Samyang Corporation is focusing on obtaining global certifications to expand its allulose product abroad. Allulose is referred to as the next-gen alternative sweetener as it produces a sweet taste comparable to sugar with common figs and grapes while maintaining a calorie count of almost “zero.”

Samyang Corporation (CEO & Vice President Song Ja-ryang), a food and chemical affiliate of Samyang Group, announced on July 23 that “Q.one TRUSWEET Allulose” had obtained the OU Kosher Certification.

Kosher certification is only rewarded to food made solely in compliance with Jewish laws, which emphasizes strictness on food sanitation. Not just the final product but also the raw materials and manufacturing process should meet kosher requirements in order to obtain this certification. Due to this rigorous certification process, kosher food is often regarded as “clean and safe.” Furthermore, it can also stand in for halal food, which is a food certification used in the Islamic religion.

Samyang Corporation’s allulose has obtained its certification from Orthodox Union (OU), the world’s largest kosher agency, thus improving its reliability. Only 1 million products from 80 countries including global food giants such as Coca-Cola and Nestlé have obtained an OU Kosher certification.

Global food market estimates that the kosher market is worth more than USD 250 billion. While the Jewish population, who are a major consumer of kosher foods, is just 13 million, the demand for kosher food is quite high across countries where Christian culture is prevalent. In fact, more than half of the 12 million kosher food consumers in the US are not Jewish. Furthermore, Muslims who account for 24.9% of the global population are also a major customer base of kosher foods.

Samyang Corporation’s allulose also obtained the Korea Muslim Federation (KMF) Halal certification in February of this year. Halal is a certification granted to food produced and processed under Islamic law and is essential in order to target countries with Islamic culture in areas such as the Middle East and Southeast Asia. KMF Halal has cross-certification with JAKIM in Malaysia, one of the three largest halal certification agencies, and therefore has the same effect.

An official from Samyang Corporation stated,” Samyang Corporation’s allulose has preemptively obtained various global certifications and authorizations from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and Food Safety System Certification (FSSC) in addition to FDA GRAS, kosher, and halal. It is available beyond Korea across the US, Japan, Mexico, Chile, Columbia, Peru, Singapore, Indonesia, and Hong Kong. We are preemptively seeking various certifications to expand the number of applicable countries.”

FDA Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) is a list of safe food products recognized by the US FDA. Samyang Corporation’s allulose is the first GRAS-listed allulose produced by enzymes found in microbes separated from food.