Gyeonggi-do Takes Administrative Action on 11 Cases of Safety Non-Compliance in Lunar New Year Seasonal Products

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province has detected and taken administrative action against 11 cases of non-compliant Lunar New Year seasonal foods.

The Gyeonggi-do Institute of Health and Environment announced on the 28th that it collected 665 seasonal holiday food items distributed in large supermarkets and traditional markets across the province from the 10th to the 21st of this month for safety inspections, and 11 cases (1.7%) were found to be non-compliant.

Among these, residual pesticides exceeding the standard limits were detected in 9 cases.

The detected items by category were 4 cases of Cheonggyeongchae, 2 cases each of sesame oil, geundae (Swiss chard), and spinach, and 1 case of lettuce.

In the case of sesame oil, the linolenic acid content was 0.9% and 1.5% respectively (standard is 0.5% or less), which is about 2 to 3 times higher than normal sesame oil. The linolenic acid content, a type of unsaturated fatty acid, is a criterion for identifying 'fake sesame oil.'

In Cheonggyeongchae, the pesticide dinotefuran was detected at 0.06 mg/kg, which is six times the standard limit of 0.01 mg/kg.

The Institute of Health and Environment requested the disposal of the non-compliant products and registered them in the 'Non-compliant Food Emergency Notification System' to notify related agencies to take administrative measures.

Park Yong-bae, director of the Gyeonggi-do Institute of Health and Environment, emphasized, "More than 98% of the Lunar New Year seasonal foods were found to be safe," adding, "We will continue food safety inspections until before the Lunar New Year to ensure that foods containing harmful substances do not reach the tables of residents."