Consumer Agency: "Products Recalled Overseas Distributed Domestically... 150% Increase Compared to Last Year"

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jinyoung] It has been revealed that products recalled overseas continue to be distributed domestically through proxy purchasing and open market sites. The domestic distribution of overseas recalled products increased by 150% compared to the previous year.

The Korea Consumer Agency announced on the 25th that, after monitoring the domestic distribution status of products recalled overseas in China, the United States, Europe, and other regions throughout 2021, a total of 382 products were identified, and recommendations were made for sales suspension, refunds, or disposal.

Among the 382 products, 377 products for which domestic importers or distributors could not be identified had their sales posts deleted or sales blocked on the sales sites, while for 5 products with confirmed domestic importers or distributors, refunds or exchanges were recommended.

By category, ‘Food and Beverages’ accounted for the largest number with 158 products (41.4%), followed by ‘Children and Infant Products’ with 51 products (13.4%), and ‘Home Appliances, Electronics, and Telecommunications Devices’ with 44 products (11.5%).

Looking at the recall reasons by category, for ‘Food and Beverages (158 products)’, recalls were mostly due to the presence of harmful substances (56 products, 35.4%) and inadequate labeling such as failure to indicate allergens (41 products, 25.9%). In particular, health foods and dietary supplements (24 products) containing ethylene oxide exceeding permissible levels and snack products (18 products) that failed to properly label allergens such as milk, peanuts, and wheat were prevalent.

For ‘Children and Infant Products (51 products)’, more than half (28 products) were recalled due to small parts detaching from the products, posing a choking hazard if swallowed by infants or young children.

For ‘Home Appliances, Electronics, and Telecommunications Devices (44 products)’, many were recalled due to risks of overheating, ignition, burns, poor insulation, and electric shock. Notably, 13 products had built-in battery or charger defects posing burn and electric shock risks.

Regarding the country of manufacture, products made in China were the most numerous at 49 products (38.9%), followed by those made in the United States (31 products, 24.6%) and the United Kingdom (10 products, 7.9%).

The Korea Consumer Agency stated that it has shortened the monitoring period for initially blocked products from the previous 3 months to 1 month and strengthened the number of re-distribution inspections to twice. The agency said, “We will continue to encourage voluntary efforts by businesses to promptly resolve issues related to the domestic inflow, online distribution, and sales of hazardous overseas products.”

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