Assemblyman Kim Won-i reports 1,596 cases of foreign substances in food ordered via delivery apps over one year

325 Administrative Actions Including Correction Orders Issued

440 Cases of Hair, 409 Cases of Insects, and Numerous Instances of Plastic, Mold, etc. Found

Won-i Kim, Member of the National Assembly (The Democratic Party of Korea, Mokpo-si, Jeollanam-do)

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Seo Young-seo] According to the revision of the ‘Food Sanitation Act,’ since July 16 last year, if foreign substances are found in food ordered through delivery apps, it must be reported to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.

According to data titled ‘Status of Foreign Substance Reports on Delivery Apps Since the Introduction of the Foreign Substance Notification System’ submitted by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety to Kim Won-i, a member of the National Assembly from the Democratic Party (Mokpo City, Jeonnam), a total of 1,596 foreign substance reports related to delivery app orders were received from July 16 last year to July 31 this year, about one year.

Hair was the most frequently reported foreign substance with 440 cases, followed by insects with 409 cases. In addition, various foreign substances such as metal, plastic, vinyl, and mold were found in delivered food, and other foreign substances including glass, thread, tissue paper, and wood chips were reported 366 times.

By delivery app, Baedal Minjok accounted for 1,455 reports, which is 91.2% of the total, followed by Yogiyo with 82 reports (5.1%).

Due to foreign substance reports on delivery apps, a total of 325 establishments received administrative measures such as correction orders. The targets of administrative actions due to foreign substance occurrences are food service establishments such as restaurants that sell cooked food using delivery apps.

As the delivery market grows, as of January, the total number of restaurants registered with the three major delivery apps?Baedal Minjok, Yogiyo, and Baedaltong?reached 149,080.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety conducts hygiene inspections annually on restaurants registered on delivery apps, and last year alone, a total of 48,050 establishments were inspected.

However, looking at the hygiene inspection status of delivery app registered businesses last year, out of 48,050 inspections, only 328 cases (0.7%) violated the Food Sanitation Act, and violations directly related to hygienic handling standards associated with foreign substances were only 84 cases.

In the current year, which is still under inspection, as of August, there were 47 violations of the Food Sanitation Act, of which only 8 were violations of hygienic handling standards.

This number is much lower than the 1,596 foreign substance occurrence reports on delivery apps in the past year and the 325 cases that actually received administrative sanctions due to foreign substance occurrences.

Assemblyman Kim Won-i stated, “In the case of delivery food, consumers find it difficult to judge the hygiene status of the establishment, so management and supervision by hygiene authorities are important,” and added, “In line with the growing delivery market size, hygiene authorities should strive to conduct more thorough inspections rather than formal ones.”

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