Namyang Dairy Products Investigated by Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Over 'Bulgaris COVID-19 Effect Controversy'

Korea Food and Drug Administration Files Complaint for Food Labeling and Advertising Act Violation

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] The police are expected to assign the case and launch a full-scale investigation into Namyang Dairy Products, which sparked controversy by announcing that its product has a COVID-19 suppression effect.

A National Police Agency investigation headquarters official stated on the 16th, "The case in which the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety filed a complaint against Namyang Dairy Products has been received by the Sejong Police Agency, but considering the location of Namyang Dairy Products' headquarters, the case will be sent to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency for investigation." However, it is known that the case has not yet been assigned.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety filed a complaint with the police against Namyang Dairy Products the day before for violating the Food Labeling and Advertising Act in relation to the announcement of the COVID-19 suppression effect of the 'Bulgari' product. Namyang Dairy Products' headquarters is located in Nonhyeon-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul.

On the 13th, Namyang Dairy Products announced at the 'Anti-Viral Food Development in the COVID-19 Era' symposium that the Bulgari fermented milk product was the first in Korea to confirm an anti-viral effect against COVID-19, but controversy arose as the results were not based on animal or clinical trials.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety confirmed through an emergency on-site investigation the day before that Namyang Dairy Products actively participated in the research and symposium, and judged that Namyang Dairy Products effectively promoted the Bulgari product beyond pure academic purposes, violating the Food Labeling and Advertising Act.

Meanwhile, Namyang Dairy Products apologized on the same day, saying, "We are sorry for causing misunderstandings related to COVID-19 among consumers." Namyang Dairy Products stated, "Although we explained during the announcement that the results were at the cell experiment stage, the effect cannot be concluded as no human clinical trials were conducted, which caused consumer misunderstandings. Based on the results of this cell experiment stage, we will verify the efficacy and value of fermented milk through animal and clinical trials and strive to research and develop products that can contribute to the promotion of public health in the future."

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