Gyeonggi-do Conducts Hygiene Inspections at 143 Meat Processing and Sales Locations

Meat Processed Product Preparation

Gyeonggi Province is set to conduct inspections of meat processing companies within the province.

On the 7th, Gyeonggi Province announced that from the 13th to the 23rd of this month, it will carry out intensive safety inspections on 143 meat processing and sales businesses across the province.

The main targets of the inspection are 50 meat processing companies that produce meat products such as gopchang (beef or pork intestines) and chicken feet using by-products like entrails, and 93 meat instant sales processing companies that produce ground meat products such as pork cutlets and tteokgalbi, which have a high risk of food poisoning caused by pathogens like enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli.

The inspection items include ▲ hygienic handling of meat ▲ compliance with storage temperature and proper operation of refrigeration and freezing equipment ▲ appropriate washing of raw materials ▲ sale of products past their expiration (distribution) date ▲ and self-quality inspection.

Gyeonggi Province plans not only to conduct hygiene inspections but also to collect meat products for safety testing, with particular attention to testing for food poisoning bacteria in ground meat products.

For any non-compliant products found during this inspection, Gyeonggi Province will conduct cause investigations, recall and dispose of the products, and impose administrative sanctions and re-inspections on companies violating relevant laws.

Choi Kyung-mook, head of the Animal Quarantine and Hygiene Division of Gyeonggi Province, emphasized, "With recent significant increases in dining-out prices, consumers have increased their consumption of processed livestock products. We will strengthen management focusing on by-products, which may have weak hygiene control, and do our best to establish a safe food distribution order."