Gangwon-do Strengthens 'Residual Pesticide Testing' for Agricultural Products... Testing Scope Doubled

Current Inspection Items Increased from 217 to 461

Agricultural Products Inspection Division GC Instrument Analysis Laboratory [Gangwon-do Institute of Health and Environment]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ra Young-cheol] Gangwon Province is strengthening inspections by significantly increasing the number of test items for agricultural products in the province starting this month, following the revision of the pesticide residue testing method.

According to the Gangwon Provincial Institute of Health and Environment on the 6th, the legal revision has enabled faster testing of pesticides that are frequently used or have a history of non-compliance.

The current 217 test items will be expanded to 461, more than doubling the number, and by adding 244 pesticides compared to before, the safety management of distributed agricultural products will be further strengthened.

Earlier, in April last year, the institute installed an on-site inspection office at the Chuncheon Agricultural and Marine Products Wholesale Market, confirming 986 cases (10 non-compliant) last year and 786 cases (5 non-compliant) as of the end of September this year in pesticide residue and heavy metal tests on agricultural products.

Additionally, among a total of 1,772 cases, 13 types of pesticides including 'procymidone' exceeded the permissible limits in 15 agricultural products.

The province notified the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and the relevant local governments about the non-compliant agricultural products to preemptively block their distribution.

Kim Young-soo, director of the institute, stated, "With the expansion of pesticide residue test items, we expect a higher detection frequency of used pesticides, and we will thoroughly collect and inspect distributed agricultural products."

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