Gyeongnam Province Activates 'Hawk's Eye'... Crackdown on Illicit Livestock Distribution and Hygiene Inspections

Targeting 6,624 Business Sites Including Slaughterhouses, Meat Processing Plants, and Retailers

The Gyeongsangnam-do Illegal Livestock Products Crackdown Team and Honorary Livestock Hygiene Inspectors are inspecting illegal distribution activities of livestock products. [Image source=Gyeongnam Provincial Government]

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Seryeong] Gyeongsangnam-do is inspecting hygiene at livestock food businesses ahead of the Seollal holiday and is taking measures to completely block illegal distribution of livestock products.

To ensure the safe supply of livestock food expected to see increased consumption during Seollal, Gyeongsangnam-do will operate 25 joint inspection teams composed of the Animal Hygiene Testing Laboratory and 18 city and county offices, along with honorary livestock product hygiene inspectors from consumer organizations.

The inspections will be conducted from the 3rd to the 9th, targeting a total of 6,624 business sites across 15 industries in the province, including slaughterhouses, livestock product processing plants, and meat shops in medium and large supermarkets.

The focus will be on Korean beef rib sets, ham gift sets, ancestral ritual supplies, and processed meat products.

Livestock processed products such as packaged meat, ham, and sausages, which see increased demand as holiday gifts, will be collected and tested for foreign substances, food poisoning bacteria, compliance with processing standards, and ingredient specifications. Non-compliant products will be recalled and destroyed.

Kang Gwangsik, Director of the Animal Quarantine Division, stated, “We will thoroughly detect acts such as disguising imported livestock products as domestic due to rising domestic livestock prices, illegal distribution of livestock products, and handling of substandard food products, and do our best to protect the food safety of residents.”