The Gyeonggi-do Special Judicial Police Unit conducted inspections of 180 side dish manufacturing and sales businesses in the province from June 17 to 28 and identified 24 locations (27 cases) that violated the Food Sanitation Act, Food Labeling and Advertising Act, and Origin Labeling Act.
Gyeonggi Province has uncovered a large number of side dish specialty manufacturers and sellers violating related laws by operating food manufacturing and processing businesses without registering with the competent authorities or storing products without any labeling for sale.
The Gyeonggi Provincial Special Judicial Police announced on the 18th that from June 17 to 28, they inspected 180 side dish specialty manufacturing and sales businesses in the province and found 24 locations (27 cases) violating the Food Sanitation Act, Food Labeling and Advertising Act, and Origin Labeling Act.
Among the major violations, business A located in Yeoju was found to have manufactured about 10 products, including simple cooking sets like Budae-jjigae and meat-processed products like Cheolpan Dakgalbi, in its on-site kitchen without conducting the mandatory self-quality inspection at least once every nine months. Business A was also caught supplying two branches located in Yeoju and Icheon for over a year without registering its food manufacturing and processing business with the competent authorities.
Business B in Yangpyeong County was caught storing 11.5kg and 9ℓ of four types of food products, including doenjang (fermented soybean paste), with no labeling at all for sale.
Business C in Icheon was found to have mixed domestic and Chinese red pepper powder but labeled the origin as domestic only, while business D was confirmed to have stored about 5kg of beef shank and brisket, which require refrigeration, in a frozen state.
Under the current Food Sanitation Act, unregistered food manufacturing and processing businesses that violate preservation standards such as freezing or refrigeration face imprisonment of up to five years or fines up to 50 million won.
Additionally, the Food Labeling and Advertising Act stipulates imprisonment of up to three years or fines up to 30 million won for manufacturing or storing unlabeled or improperly labeled foods for sale, and the Origin Labeling Act imposes imprisonment of up to seven years or fines up to 100 million won for false origin labeling.
A Gyeonggi Province official stated, "With the increase in single-person households and the home meal trend due to high prices, the side dish market has grown significantly, leading to an increase in related illegal activities. We will strictly punish the detected businesses according to relevant regulations and do our best to ensure food safety for residents through continuous inspections."
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