Consumer Agency Reports Domestic Distribution of 153 Products Recalled Overseas

Food and Beverage, Child and Infant Products, Cosmetics in Order... Redistribution After Sales Blockade

Main Reasons for Recalls by Major Item.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] Cases of products recalled overseas being distributed and sold domestically are increasing. Although the Korea Consumer Agency blocks the domestic sale of detected products through monitoring, some cases of redistribution have been identified.

On the 25th, the Korea Consumer Agency announced that, as a result of monitoring whether products recalled last year in Europe, the United States, Canada, and other countries were distributed domestically, it confirmed that 153 products were being distributed and recommended corrective actions such as blocking sales, refunds, or free repairs.

Among these products, 148 products without official importers or distributors in Korea or not sold through official channels had their sales posts deleted or sales blocked on purchasing agency sites and other sales sites. For 5 products with confirmed domestic importers or distributors, refunds or free repairs were recommended. These products are 'Scarpa climbing shoes', 'Honda portable generator', 'Line6 wireless transmitter', 'Herobility infant spoon', and 'Shimano fishing vest'.

Among the 153 products, food and beverages accounted for the largest portion with 35 items (22.9%), followed by children and infant products with 34 items (22.2%), and cosmetics with 20 items (13.1%). The reasons for recalls in food and beverages were mostly foreign substance contamination or failure to label allergenic substances. Among food and beverages, snacks (10 items) had the highest number of recalls.

More than half (52.9%) of the children and infant products were recalled due to the risk of choking if small parts were swallowed by infants or young children. Among such products with choking hazards, stuffed dolls (6 items) were the most common. Cosmetics were often recalled due to containing harmful substances and inadequate child-resistant packaging. Whitening creams (7 items) and body lotions (3 items) were recalled for containing harmful substances such as mercury.

Out of the 153 products, country of manufacture information was confirmed for 80 products. Among these, 33 were made in China and 29 in the United States. Chinese products were mostly home appliances, electronics, communication devices, and children and infant products, while lifestyle, automotive products, and cosmetics were mostly American-made.

Some products are redistributed after sales blocking. Monitoring conducted three months after blocking sales of 119 products from January to October last year confirmed that 44 products (37.0%) were redistributed, prompting the Korea Consumer Agency to recommend blocking sales again.

The Consumer Agency stated, "Overseas recalled products are distributed and sold through global online distributors in the form of purchasing agencies, so products already blocked from sale may be redistributed through other sites," and added, "We plan to shorten the current three-month redistribution inspection cycle and increase the number of monitoring sessions." Information on overseas recalled products can be found on the Consumer Hazard Monitoring System and the Open Consumer Portal Happy Dream.

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