Abstract

There are more than 2000 minerals on earth, and it has been implemented in various fields such as environment, architecture, livestock, chemistry, pharmaceuticals. Clay minerals are considered that they can change the physical and chemical properties through the adsorption and release of metal ions. Although domestic deposit of non-metallic mineral resources is approximately ninety-six billion tons, its application is limited and has hardly been used in high value-added industries involved in medicine, medical supplies, and functional food materials. Bentonite and zeolite are already used for cosmetic purposes and also used in living goods and packing materials. However, direct application to the food industry is relatively very rare. Since records regarding the intake of minerals for foods and medicines are found in the old literatures, the utilization of non-metallic minerals as food materials appears to be highly profitable. According to the trends in patent research for food and mineral resources, the company plays a main role for the development of the food containing non-metallic minerals in USA, and the trends confirms that this industry is emerging. Here, we provided the information about domestic and foreign patent trend for food industries involved in mineral resources and the application of mineral resources in the food industries. We also covered the domestic regulation regarding usage of mineral resources in food, and proposed domestic application plan for food production using mineral resources in the future.

Keywords food, clay mineral resources, bentonite, zeolite, KFDA