The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on Feb. 24 announced its signing with the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (Anvisa) of a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the regulation of health-related products on the occasion of the bilateral summit in Seoul. (Ministry of Food and Drug Safety)

By Lee Dasom

The country will boost its beauty and cosmetics exports to Central and South America with the help of Brazil, the region's largest market.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on Feb. 24 announced its signing with the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (Anvisa) of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on cooperation in the regulation of health-related products. This accord is an updated version of the MOU both organizations signed in 2014 to keep up with the times.

The scope of bilateral regulatory cooperation was expanded to all health-related products, including cosmetics, with the list previously limited to food, pharmaceuticals and medical devices.

The gist of the MOU includes the exchange of information on policy and safety management systems, cooperation in promoting a regulatory trust channel between both agencies, and joint efforts for technological exchange and regulatory harmony related to the adoption of cosmetics systems like e-labeling and functional cosmetics.

"Korean cosmetic exports to Brazil has maintained a growth trend," the ministry said. "The conclusion of this latest MOU strengthens regulatory cooperation with an emerging export market for the expansion of K-beauty exports and responding to global regulatory challenges."

In a subsequent meeting, the ministry and Anvisa agreed on the need for cooperation in health-related products and reinforcement of their mutual cooperation system.

Minister Oh Yu-Kyoung said, "Based on the industry's opinions, we will promote cooperation with overseas regulatory agencies to actively support the augmentation of the competitiveness of our cosmetics sector and K-beauty exports."

dlektha0319@korea.kr