[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced on the 27th that it conducted on-site inspections of 450 overseas manufacturing sites in 32 countries exporting food products to South Korea last year, identifying 38 sites (8.4%) with inadequate hygiene management and taking measures such as import suspension.
The violations mainly included ▲insufficient sealing of work areas ▲inadequate ventilation facilities in changing rooms ▲inadequate ventilation facilities in restrooms ▲lack of lockers in changing rooms ▲failure to inspect and calibrate thermometers.
Among the 38 sites found, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety suspended imports from 24 sites judged as 'non-compliant' and collected products from these manufacturers distributed domestically for inspection. For the 14 sites judged as 'requiring improvement,' inspections were intensified, and detailed inspections of all products were conducted until corrective actions were completed.
The Ministry stated, "This year as well, we will focus on inspecting overseas manufacturing sites of imported foods that require concentrated management, striving to ensure that the public can consume imported foods with safety secured from the local production stage abroad."
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