Gyeonggi Health and Environment Institute Conducts Safety Tests on 274 Chuseok Seasonal Foods... 1 Case Non-compliant

Gyeonggi-do Institute of Health and Environment is conducting safety inspections on 274 Seongsu food products ahead of the Chuseok holiday.

The Gyeonggi-do Institute of Health and Environment conducted safety inspections on 274 seasonal food products ahead of the Chuseok holiday, resulting in one item being deemed non-compliant.

According to the Gyeonggi-do Institute of Health and Environment on the 11th, this survey to ensure the safety of agricultural and marine products, processed foods, and prepared foods consumed as gifts or for ancestral rites was conducted on foods collected from large supermarkets and traditional markets across the province between August 12 and 23. Inspections were carried out on 274 items, including 177 collected from 31 cities and counties and 97 collected by the institute itself.

The items included △ processed foods such as traditional liquor and sesame oil (60 items) △ health functional foods such as red ginseng (11 items) △ prepared foods such as cold noodles (71 items) △ agricultural products such as spinach (77 items) △ marine products and processed foods such as croaker fish (55 items).

The inspections covered △ harmful substances in food such as heavy metals, preservatives, and acid value △ food poisoning bacteria such as Salmonella △ radioactive substances such as cesium and iodine △ and 471 types of residual pesticides.

As a result, one case of Apis mellifera honey was found to contain 102.0 mg/kg of hydroxymethylfurfural, about 1.3 times the standard limit (80.0 mg/kg or less), and administrative action was requested from the relevant authorities including the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. Hydroxymethylfurfural is a component found in honey that increases when heated or stored for a long time. A lower value indicates freshness.

All other products were found to be compliant.

A representative from the Gyeonggi-do Institute of Health and Environment said, "We proactively conducted detailed safety inspections on seasonal foods so that residents can celebrate the holiday with peace of mind. We will continue to do our best to create a safe food environment for the residents."