11 Facilities Found in Violation During Hygiene Inspections of Food Services at Social Welfare Institutions and Postpartum Care Centers

Inspections Reveal Poor Hygiene Management and Storage of Expired Products

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced on July 10 that, from June 9 to June 20, it conducted inspections of a total of 5,850 food service facilities, including social welfare institutions and postpartum care centers, in cooperation with 17 local governments, and discovered 11 facilities in violation of the Food Sanitation Act.

This inspection focused on the hygiene management of food service facilities used by the elderly, people with disabilities, children, and mothers, with the aim of ensuring that vulnerable groups have access to safe meals.

The main violations included: failure to comply with hygienic handling standards such as inadequate cleanliness of kitchens (2 facilities); storage of products past their expiration date (2 facilities); failure to retain food samples (5 facilities); failure to comply with operator obligations such as not keeping ingredient inspection logs (1 facility); and violation of facility standards (1 case).

The facilities found in violation will be subject to administrative measures such as fines imposed by the relevant authorities, and will be re-inspected within six months.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety collected a total of 791 samples of food and cooking utensils prepared at the inspected facilities to test for compliance with standards and specifications, including the presence of food poisoning bacteria. Of the 676 samples for which testing has been completed so far, all met the required standards and specifications. The remaining 115 samples are still under examination, and appropriate measures will be taken based on the results.