‘Chinese kimchi is being sold as domestic’… 125 places caught violating country of origin labeling

Over 100 companies have been penalized for violating country of origin labeling laws for kimchi vegetables and cabbage kimchi, with 97 of these companies providing false information and 28 failing to declare the country of origin at all. The inspection, which covered 24,000 restaurants, manufacturers, and distributors, was conducted by the National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service (NAQS) in response to a surge in agricultural product imports, especially from China, due to a heat wave this year. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs is planning to increase its crackdown on false labeling until the kimchi-making process is completed and is encouraging consumers to report any suspicious activities.

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Shin Seon-mi = Ahead of the kimchi season, more than 100 companies have been caught selling kimchi vegetables such as dried peppers and kimchi by deceiving the country of origin. The National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service (NAQS) announced on the 24th that it has caught 125 companies that violated the country of origin labeling after inspecting the distribution of kimchi vegetables and cabbage kimchi since the 10th of last month. This is the result of the NAQS investigating 24,000 restaurants, kimchi manufacturers, and distributors. Of the 125 companies caught in this inspection, 97 falsely indicated the country of origin and 28 did not indicate the country of origin at all. Looking at the companies caught by business type, general restaurants were the most with 104, followed by 7 manufacturers, 4 each of contract catering companies and mail-order companies. In a major case, a restaurant falsely labeled Chinese cabbage kimchi ...