Delivery Restaurant Safety 'Pinpoint' Inspection... Seoul City Identifies 10 Poor-Quality Businesses, "Strong Response"

Inspection of 63 Delivery Food Outlets Including Multi-Menu and Shop-in-Shop Stores
Strong Measures Against Illegal Acts Such as Mislabeling Origin and Storing Seasoned Meat Past Two-Month Expiry Date

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government's Civil Affairs Judicial Police Unit announced on the 19th that it conducted a joint inspection with local districts from April 26 to 30 on 63 delivery food establishments located around university areas and neighborhoods densely populated by single-person households, uncovering 10 violators.

This inspection was carried out in response to growing public concerns about the hygiene status of delivery food, whose cooking environments are unknown, amid the increase in delivery food orders due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.

The inspection targets included hygiene-vulnerable establishments selected through analysis of user reviews and so-called 'Shop-in-Shop' businesses that have gained popularity as a strategy to increase sales on delivery apps. 'Shop-in-Shop' businesses operate multiple brand names under a single business registration number on delivery apps, effectively running several stores as one, which is popular but raises concerns about poor ingredient management when handling many menu items, thus they were included in the inspection.

The violations found were as follows: ▲3 cases of false origin labeling and violations of labeling standards ▲3 cases of storing and using expired products ▲1 case of violating hygienic handling standards ▲1 case of violating business operator compliance requirements ▲2 cases of failure to undergo health examinations.

For example, establishment A used U.S.-grown rice but falsely labeled it as domestic rice on the delivery app. The Shop-in-Shop establishment B, where expired products were found, handled 35 menu items ranging from chicken feet to sundae soup under three different brand names on the delivery app, and the owner was confused about which ingredients were used in which menu items. Establishment C, a snack bar, was caught using oil with an acid value of 3.5 (acceptable standard: 3.0 or below), indicating poor hygiene conditions.

According to the 'Act on the Labeling of Origin of Agricultural and Fishery Products,' false or misleading origin labeling can result in imprisonment for up to seven years or a fine of up to 100 million KRW. Since July last year, delivery food has also been subject to mandatory origin labeling, requiring the indication of origin on packaging, receipts, and flyers.

Park Byung-hyun, head of the Civil Affairs Investigation Division 2 of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Civil Affairs Judicial Police Unit, stated, “As delivery food has become important in citizens' diets due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and the increase in single-person households, the demand for trustworthy delivery food is growing. We will continue to conduct thorough inspections and strengthen investigations to ensure that citizens can enjoy delivery food with peace of mind.”

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