MFDS Chief: "Shared Kitchens Achieve Results Without Food Incidents in One and a Half Years"

Lee Eui-kyung (second from the right in the photo), Commissioner of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, visited the Wecook Songpa branch in Songpa-gu, Seoul on the 23rd to inspect the site and hear about recent difficulties.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] On the 23rd, Lee Ui-kyung, Commissioner of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, visited the shared kitchen company 'Simple Project Company' located in Songpa-gu, Seoul, to inspect hygiene and safety management status and discuss with the industry facing difficulties due to recent sales declines.

Shared kitchens were introduced in April last year as a regulatory sandbox pilot project by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety to promote the sharing economy. Initially, one kitchen was divided into day and night shifts for use by two people, but it has now expanded to allow multiple users at the same time. The types of businesses have diversified from former rest food establishments handling coffee to food trucks and delivery-only restaurants.

Through the shared kitchen pilot project sites, the Ministry estimates that new startups have saved about 12.6 billion KRW in initial investment costs. According to Statistics Korea, the average startup cost per business is about 89 million KRW for restaurants, and 142 businesses have registered using this company's shared kitchen service.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety reported that after inspecting shared kitchen sites to check whether they properly follow operational guidelines such as cross-contamination management, no violations were found. Commissioner Lee Ui-kyung said, "Shared kitchens have achieved results over the past one year and five months, with increasing participating businesses and operation without a single food safety incident," adding, "We will provide systematic education and technical support to improve hygiene levels of shared kitchens and promote legal amendments to bring them under the regulatory framework within this year."

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