MFDS Catches One Company Selling Agricultural and Forest Products Not Approved for Food Use

Made and Sold as Euremdeonggul (Moktong) Tea Varieties
Five Items Exceeding Residual Pesticide Standards Also Detected

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-won] The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced that after inspecting major herbal medicine markets nationwide and online retailers and collecting and testing agricultural and forestry products, it identified one company selling products not approved for food use and five items exceeding permissible limits for pesticide residues and other substances.

The Ministry and local governments conducted this inspection from the 11th to the 22nd of last month to check the sales status of agricultural and forestry products not approved for food use and to verify the safety of agricultural and forestry products intended for non-food purposes.

The inspection targeted 184 vendors within major herbal medicine markets, 200 online shopping malls, and 330 agricultural and forestry product items.

As a result, the Ministry detected and blocked access to a website advertising and selling Euonymus alatus (Moktong) as a type of tea, which is not approved for food use.

Additionally, they disposed of Lingzhi mushrooms, Omija berries, dandelions, Korean chrysanthemum, and goji berries that exceeded permissible limits for pesticide residues and heavy metals. Administrative actions, including fines, were requested for the producers.

The Ministry explained that continuous education and publicity efforts regarding agricultural and forestry products not approved for food use at herbal medicine market vendors and online shopping malls have led to a yearly decrease in violations. The number of violations was 39 in 2020, 6 in 2021, and 2 this year.

A Ministry official stated, "We will continue to strengthen guidance, inspections, collection, and testing of agricultural and forestry products not approved for food use to ensure consumers can purchase these products with confidence."

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