Consumer Agency "Mold Found in Some Yukpo... All Recalled and Disposed"

Korea Consumer Agency Tests Nutrition and Safety
Mold Detected in "GomGom Beef Jerky" Sold by CPLB
Exchanges and Refunds Completed for Affected Customers

The Korea Consumer Agency announced on the 11th that, after testing the nutritional content and safety of 18 jerky products distributed in the market, mold was detected in one product, and the agency recommended a recall and quality improvement to the business operator.

Jerky (The product in the photo is not related to the article content)

The product in which mold was detected is "GomGom Beef Jerky," produced by the small and medium-sized company Hongseon and sold by CPLB, a subsidiary of Coupang's private brand (PB). The expiration date is until July 29. Following the Consumer Agency's recommendation, CPLB stopped selling the product, recalled all items in January, and disposed of them. They also completed exchanges and refunds for customers who purchased the product.

Jerky is a semi-dried food with residual moisture, which can spoil and develop mold if mishandled during distribution or storage. Therefore, food labeling standards require storage methods and other consumer precautions to be indicated. The Consumer Agency's investigation found that all products displayed precautionary information, but some lacked sufficient details on storage methods or measures to address spoilage, indicating a need for improvement.

From 2021 to the recent four years, a total of 38 harm cases related to jerky were reported to the Consumer Agency. Among these, 19 cases involved abnormal symptoms such as abdominal pain and hives after consumption, and 12 cases involved mold contamination.

Additionally, among the 18 jerky products investigated, 15 products displayed nutritional content. Upon verifying the accuracy of the nutritional content labeling, two products showed discrepancies between the labeled sodium and fat content and the actual amounts, indicating a need for quality control and labeling improvements.

The price per serving (15g) of the jerky products ranged from 416 to 4,740 KRW, showing a maximum difference of 11.4 times between products. Five products using Korean native beef (Hanwoo) as raw meat were relatively expensive, priced between 1,875 and 4,740 KRW.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.