The government is strengthening customs clearance management to ensure the safety of food purchased through overseas direct purchase.
On the 25th, the Korea Customs Service announced that from the 25th of this month to the 6th of next month, it will conduct intensive safety inspections of food purchased through overseas direct purchase via express cargo and international mail in cooperation with the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (hereinafter referred to as MFDS).
The intensive inspections are conducted to block the import of illegal and harmful foods that threaten public health, taking advantage of the surge in overseas direct purchase volumes around the U.S. Black Friday (November 29).
As part of the safety collaboration inspection, the Korea Customs Service and MFDS will carry out intensive inspections. During the inspection period, the Korea Customs Service plans to strengthen crackdowns on overseas direct purchase foods containing raw materials or ingredients prohibited from import (296 types including narcotics, pharmaceutical ingredients, and adulterants banned for use in food).
In particular, the Korea Customs Service emphasized that it will focus on checking whether products claiming effects such as memory improvement, concentration enhancement, immune system strengthening, and weight loss, as well as other high-risk products, contain dangerous ingredients that cannot be used as food raw materials.
Products with unclear ingredient names on the container or suspected of containing harmful ingredients will have their customs clearance immediately withheld, and a detailed analysis of the ingredients will be conducted.
The Korea Customs Service and MFDS have been conducting collaborative safety inspections at the customs clearance stage for overseas direct purchase foods since 2015. The collaboration inspection is carried out so that customs officers with authority to inspect import and export goods and experts from the relevant ministries for each product can jointly verify (inspect) the safety of import and export goods at the customs clearance stage.
A Korea Customs Service official advised, “If harmful ingredients are identified during the intensive inspection, import into the country will be restricted by disposal or return during the customs clearance process. Consumers should first check whether the food they intend to purchase through overseas direct purchase contains harmful ingredients.”
Meanwhile, information on overseas direct purchase harmful foods restricted from import can be checked at any time on the Food Safety Korea website (Overseas Direct Purchase Food Olbaro).
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