농산물 가공은 농산물을 원물로 판매할 때보다 부가가치를 제고할 수 있는 방안의 하나로, 품질이 상 대적으로 낮거나 상품성이 없는 농산물을 가공을 통해 농가소득을 높일 수 있는 중요한 정책 수단의 하 나로 인식되어 왔다. 정부도 농산물 가공의 중요성을 인식하고 농산물 가공을 적극 장려하고 있다. 하 지만 식품의 가공은 농산물과는 달리 다양한 법적·제도적 규제를 받는다. 이런 법적·제도적 규제를 정확히 알지 못하고 농산물 가공을 시작할 경우 의도치 않게 법을 위반할 수도 있다. 따라서 이 논문에 서는 농산물 가공과 관련된 중요한 법규를 중심으로 농산물 가공을 위해 준수해야 할 법규의 내용을 검 토한다.
Agricultural food processing has generally been regarded as one of the parts that can increase the value-added of agricultural products, so farmers have been encouraged not to sell their products as raw materials, in particular, for low-quality products or commodities with quality that can not be sold in market. The Korean government has also highlighted the importance of agricultural food processing to overcome the continual decrease in farm household income. However, many farmers and officials who try to do food processing in the rural area sometimes face many different types of legal obstacles, such as Food Sanitation Act and Building Act, etc. Those obstacles include laws and regulations about processing facilities, factories, land at which the factory is located, wastewater discharged from processing activities. No correct knowledge about these laws and acts could lead farmers to law-breakers. Thus it is of great importance to understand the details of related laws and regulations. This paper, though there are many laws and regulation related food processing, reviews key laws and regulations which farmers and officials have to know.