Gyeonggi-do's War Against Food Poisoning... Strengthening Inspections, Prevention, and Publicity Activities for Vulnerable Facilities

Gyeonggi Provincial Government

Gyeonggi Province is strengthening inspections of vulnerable facilities, prevention, and promotional activities to reduce the occurrence of food poisoning incidents.

On the 13th, Gyeonggi Province announced that to prevent food poisoning accidents during the summer, it will conduct ▲comprehensive inspections for safe food provision to vulnerable groups and high-consumption foods and food poisoning prevention ▲education and promotion for hygiene management in traditional markets and food poisoning prevention ▲mock drills for rapid response in case of food poisoning outbreaks ▲broadcasting food poisoning prevention promotional videos through G-Bus.

First, Gyeonggi Province will conduct a comprehensive inspection by the end of this month targeting 1,444 meal service facilities within social welfare facilities and postpartum care centers in the province, where it is difficult to respond to food poisoning incidents and large-scale patient outbreaks are possible. The main inspection items include compliance with food ingredient storage standards, use of expired products (ingredients), hygienic handling of food, and hygiene management of meal service facilities such as cleaning and disinfecting utensils.

In July, in preparation for the summer vacation season, focused inspections will be conducted on restaurants near highway rest areas, amusement facilities, beaches, water parks, and delivery-only restaurants. To ensure rapid and accurate response in case of food poisoning, on-site response mock drills will also be conducted in 31 cities and counties.

Additionally, food poisoning prevention promotional videos will be broadcast on G-Bus starting in July.

Inchi Kwon, Director of the Food Safety Division of Gyeonggi Province, urged, "To prevent Salmonella and pathogenic E. coli, which are major causes of food poisoning in summer, be careful of cross-contamination when handling eggs and poultry meat, and it is better to eat foods that may have bacterial growth due to high temperature and humidity after cooking."

Meanwhile, as of the end of May this year, the number of food poisoning cases in the province was 72 (664 patients), a significant increase compared to 48 cases (820 patients) during the same period last year.