"Washing Feet with a Loofah Used for Washing Radishes"... MFDS Catches 'Bangbae Jokbal'

Detailed Analysis of Building and Surrounding Environment Captured in Video to Identify Location

A video of a man soaking his feet together with radishes in a basin while washing the radishes. Photo by Online Community

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] A restaurant that sparked controversy for a scene where a food handler wiped his soles with a scrubber used to wash radishes is now facing an investigation.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) announced on the 28th that it identified the establishment related to the 'unsanitary radish washing restaurant video' that spread on social networking services (SNS), conducted an on-site inspection, confirmed violations of the Food Sanitation Act, and requested administrative action from the competent authorities while proceeding with an investigation.

The video shows a man soaking his feet in a basin of water while washing radishes in the same basin. The footage even shows him rubbing his soles with the scrubber used for washing the radishes and then continuing to wash the radishes again.

Inside the Bangbae Jokbal Cooking Facility (Provided by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety)

The establishment was confirmed to be ‘Bangbae Jokbal’ located in Bangbae-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul. The MFDS identified the location by checking the registration information of the yellow vehicle in the video, then the Digital Forensics Team of the Central Investigation Unit for Hazardous Crimes conducted a detailed analysis of the building features and surrounding environment captured in the video to pinpoint the place where the violation occurred.

It was investigated that this video was recorded at the end of June during the radish washing process by the food handler at the establishment. The handler has not reported to work since the 25th of this month.

Through the on-site inspection, the MFDS also uncovered violations such as ▲use of expired raw materials and storage for cooking purposes ▲violation of frozen food storage standards ▲unsanitary management of raw materials and others. According to the MFDS, this establishment used expired mustard dressing products in the preparation of cold jokbal sauce and stored expired gochujang for cooking purposes.

Additionally, four frozen products including frozen dumplings and frozen jokbal intended for cooking and sale were stored without adhering to storage standards, and knives and cutting boards used for handling meat and vegetables were not properly cleaned. Overall hygiene management was insufficient, with grease buildup around the ventilation fans and hoods.

The MFDS plans to continue cracking down on violations of the Food Sanitation Act going forward.

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