[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jung] The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (Commissioner Kim Gang-rip) announced on the 10th that it conducted an on-site investigation of the company in question on the 9th regarding the 'unsanitary handling video of dried squid' that recently spread on social networking services (SNS), and detected violations of the 'Food Sanitation Act,' requesting administrative action from the relevant authorities.
The Ministry traced the company based on the packaging box of the product appearing in the video and confirmed that it is 'Nong-eochon Food,' a dried squid packaging and distribution company located in Ganggu-myeon, Yeongdeok-gun, Gyeongbuk Province, and conducted an on-site investigation.
As a result of the on-site investigation, the Ministry found that, as shown in the video, the company handled the dried squid unsanitarily by stepping on and flattening it with work shoes, and detected violations of the 'Food Sanitation Act,' including employees not wearing hygiene caps and masks and poor cleanliness of the workplace.
The company unsanitarily handled the squid dried at the drying yard by placing it in sacks without any hygienic measures and stepping on the bent squid with work shoes to flatten it. It was also revealed that employees gathered in the workplace to eat ramen and other foods, failing to comply with cleanliness obligations.
The Ministry reported that the violations by the company continued from October 26 last year to January 8 this year, but approximately 3,898 kg of squid produced during this period were confirmed to be entirely stored without being distributed in the market.
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety stated, "We have taken measures to ensure that all unsanitary handled and produced products stored by the company are voluntarily recalled so that they do not circulate in the market," and added, "We will continue to crack down on acts of unsanitary handling of food in the future."
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