MFDS Identifies 87 Violating Companies in Holiday Seasonal Food Inspection

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced on the 19th that it conducted a comprehensive inspection of 5,529 manufacturers, importers, and sellers of health functional foods, livestock products, Korean traditional sweets (Hangwa), and traditional liquors consumed as gifts and ceremonial items during the Lunar New Year holiday, and found violations in 87 cases.

This inspection was carried out from the 3rd to the 9th of this month in cooperation with 17 local governments. Along with the inspection, sampling and testing (domestic distribution) and detailed inspection at the customs clearance stage (imported foods) were also conducted.

The main violations included ▲Manufacturing and selling unregistered foods (Hangwa) (1 case) ▲Manufacturing products (dried noodles, snacks) without Food Safety Management Certification (HACCP) (2 cases) ▲Failure to prepare documents such as raw material transaction ledgers and production/work logs (5 cases) ▲Storage of expired products (8 cases) ▲Failure to conduct self-quality inspections (6 cases) ▲Failure to operate self-hygiene management standards (5 cases) ▲Failure to undergo health examinations (31 cases) ▲Labeling standard violations (6 cases) ▲Violation of hygienic handling standards (6 cases) ▲Other violations such as facility standards (17 cases).

Additionally, 2,302 cases of processed foods, prepared foods, and agricultural, livestock, and fishery products distributed domestically were sampled and tested for residual pesticides, heavy metals, food poisoning bacteria, etc. Among the 1,305 cases tested so far, 5 were judged non-compliant and will be disposed of. In customs inspections, one case of agricultural products (carrots) imported from China was found non-compliant and will be subject to return or disposal measures.

The detected companies will be administratively sanctioned by the relevant local food and drug offices or local governments, and re-inspected within six months to verify whether violations have been corrected. Imported foods found non-compliant during customs inspections will undergo detailed inspections (five consecutive times) if the same products are imported in the future. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety stated, "We will continue to conduct pre-inspections of foods whose consumption increases during specific periods such as holidays to do our best to prevent food accidents."