A public official from Yongin City is collecting food samples requested for radiation testing. Photo by Yongin City
[Asia Economy (Yongin) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Yongin City in Gyeonggi Province announced that the 'Citizen Radioactivity Inspection Request System,' introduced last year, has received great response from citizens.
Yongin City stated on the 8th that in the past month, a total of six requests were received under the Citizen Radioactivity Inspection Request System, which is implemented to alleviate citizens' concerns about food radioactivity contamination, including four cases of seafood and two cases of processed products.
The city explained that all inspection results were 'safe,' with iodine-131 below 300 Bq/kg and the combined cesium-134 and 137 below 100 Bq/kg, which are the standards set by the Food Code.
Until now, the city has been collecting food distributed in the market for safety inspections, but since last year, it has been operating the request system for citizens to increase transparency in inspections.
When a citizen requests an inspection for food suspected of radioactivity safety issues, the city collects the food from the relevant sales point and sends it to the Gyeonggi-do Institute of Health and Environment for testing the presence of iodine and cesium.
The inspection results are disclosed on the city’s website so that all citizens can view them.
The request system is available to anyone, including citizens, local group catering facilities, and civic organizations.
The inspection targets are agricultural and marine products or processed products sold at marts or food stores. Spoiled or deteriorated food, food with unverified origin, or opened food are excluded.
Applicants can download the application form from the city’s website and submit it.
Applications can be made once a month, and companies whose food is inspected are not allowed to use the results for advertising purposes.
A city official said, "Food safety is directly linked to citizens' health and must be managed strictly above all else," adding, "We are implementing the Citizen Radioactivity Inspection Request System so that citizens can purchase food with peace of mind, and we encourage many citizens to use this system."
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