Geumsan Ginseng and Herbal Medicine Industry Promotion Institute Earns “Excellent” Rating for Pesticide Residue Analysis for Two Consecutive Years

Proven Precision and Reliability That Meet International Standards
High-Level Results Achieved with Comparative Evaluation Values (Z-Score) Within ±0.8

Exterior view of Geumsan County Office (Photo by Geumsan County)

The Geumsan Ginseng and Herbal Medicine Industry Promotion Institute has received an “Excellent” rating for two consecutive years in the field of pesticide residue analysis, demonstrating precision and reliability that meet international standards.

The institute achieved outstanding results by participating in the Food Analysis Performance Assessment Scheme (FAPAS), an internationally recognized evaluation program in the field of food analysis, organized by the UK Food and Environment Research Agency (FERA).

The institute further solidified its reputation as a globally trusted analytical research organization by delivering excellent results in the international proficiency assessments in 2021, 2022, 2024, and 2025.

Through these achievements, the institute has proven that it possesses a stable, proprietary quality management system and continues to maintain and develop internationally recognized expertise and analytical capabilities.

In this latest assessment, the institute analyzed 463 pesticide residue components, and for the 14 components detected, the comparative evaluation values (Z-Scores) were within ±0.8, achieving results that demonstrate a high level of precision and reliability in line with international standards.

The comparative evaluation value (Z-Score) is an indicator of the accuracy of analytical results; a value within ±2 is considered “good,” and the closer it is to zero, the more excellent the result.

Kim Jiheon, head of the Ginseng and Herbal Medicine Policy Division, stated, “Together with Geumsan County, we are currently establishing a safety management system for all ginseng distributed in Geumsan and working to strengthen the quality competitiveness of Geumsan ginseng. Going forward, we will further enhance the safety management system and improve quality competitiveness so that Geumsan ginseng can be recognized worldwide.”