Radiation Testing Also Conducted by Private Sector... Suhyup Designated as 'No.1 Seafood Safety Inspection Agency'

On the 13th, the National Fishery Products Quality Management Service announced that it designated the Fisheries Cooperative Federation's Seafood Research Laboratory as the 'No. 1 Seafood Safety Testing Institution' on the 11th.

The Seafood Safety Testing Institution is a testing agency designated and managed by the National Fishery Products Quality Management Service to professionally and efficiently conduct safety investigations and test analyses of seafood. Seafood Safety Testing Institutions can be designated separately for four categories: ▲heavy metals ▲antibiotics ▲pathogenic microorganisms ▲radioactivity. Designation is only possible after passing strict document and on-site inspection procedures, including the presence of suitable machinery and equipment and evaluation of testing capabilities. The Fisheries Cooperative Federation was designated as the first safety testing institution after passing the review for test analysis of radioactivity.

Until now, safety investigations of seafood at the production stage have been conducted only by government testing agencies such as the National Fishery Products Quality Management Service and local government testing agencies. However, with this designation of the Seafood Safety Testing Institution, the Fisheries Cooperative Federation's Seafood Research Laboratory, a private institution, has joined for the first time. This will not only expand the capacity for radioactivity testing of seafood at the production stage but is also expected to help create a consumer safety environment where consumers can purchase seafood with confidence.

Hong Rae-hyung, head of the National Fishery Products Quality Management Service, said, "With the designation of the Fisheries Cooperative Federation as a Seafood Safety Testing Institution, safety testing can now be conducted in the private sector as well, and we expect a more thorough seafood radioactivity testing system to be established." He added, "We will continue to expand the designation of Seafood Safety Testing Institutions to ensure there are no gaps in seafood safety management and do our best."

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