Free Residual Pesticide Safety Inspection Before Shipment at Gangseo Agricultural Products Wholesale Market

Seoul Agro-Fisheries & Food Corporation Prevents Producer Disadvantages and Protects Consumer Health by Pre-Checking Unsuitable Agricultural Products through 'Pre-Shipment Free Residual Pesticide Safety Inspection'

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Seoul Agro-Fisheries & Food Corporation (President Youngpyo Moon) is providing free "Pre-shipment Residual Pesticide Testing" for producers shipping to Gangseo Agricultural Products Wholesale Market (hereafter ‘Gangseo Market’).

The pre-shipment residual pesticide safety inspection system at Gangseo Market has been in operation since 2021 to prevent disadvantages to producers by confirming the non-compliance of agricultural products before shipment and to proactively protect consumers' health by preventing the shipment of non-compliant agricultural products.

The safety inspection targets all agricultural products shipped to Gangseo Market. The inspection procedure requires shippers to deliver a sample of at least 0.5kg to the wholesale market corporation or market wholesaler they trade with at least three days before shipment to Gangseo Market. The wholesale market corporation or market wholesaler then requests the Corporation’s Safety Inspection Laboratory to conduct the test. After testing for residual pesticides, the Corporation’s Safety Inspection Laboratory notifies the results to the respective shipper and the wholesale market corporation or market wholesaler.

The pre-shipment residual pesticide testing system at Gangseo Market is fully funded by the Corporation, so there is no cost burden on the shippers, and even if pesticide levels exceed the standard, shippers will not suffer any disadvantages.

However, if residual pesticides are detected after shipment to the wholesale market, the agricultural products will be entirely discarded in accordance with the Act on Agri-Fisheries Products Distribution and Price Stabilization, and the shipper will be restricted from shipping to the 32 public wholesale markets nationwide for a certain period.

Choi Younggyu, Head of the School Meal Safety Team, stated, “The pre-shipment safety inspection at Gangseo Market is a system that prevents disadvantages to producers by confirming non-compliance of agricultural products in advance and proactively protects consumer health from non-compliant agricultural products, so active participation from shippers is necessary. Going forward, the Corporation plans to gradually increase pre-shipment safety inspections rather than same-day inspections at the wholesale market.”