Seoul City Detects 5 Cases of Origin Violations in Summer Health Food Goat Meat... 1 in 6 Places Violated

Special Inspection of 30 Goat Meat Specialty Restaurants in June
4 Cases of False Origin Labeling, 1 Case of Confusing Origin Indication

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government's Civil Life Judicial Police Unit announced on the 15th that it conducted a special inspection on 30 goat meat specialty restaurants in Seoul from June 20 to 30 to check for violations of origin labeling, and found 5 establishments that falsely labeled imported meat as domestic.

Seoul conducted the inspection targeting large specialty restaurants in the city that prepare and sell goat meat, popular as a health food during the summer season. The inspection was carried out by selecting suspicious establishments based on online user reviews and business registration information, then verifying whether the origin indicated within the establishment matched the origin of the meat stored in refrigerators. Restaurants handling livestock products subject to origin labeling, such as goat meat, are required under the "Act on the Labeling of Origin of Agricultural and Fishery Products" to keep receipts or transaction statements indicating the origin for six months from the date of purchase.

The inspection results showed that among the 30 inspected establishments, 5 violated origin labeling regulations: 4 for false origin labeling and 1 for potentially confusing labeling, resulting in a violation rate of 16.6%. These violating establishments will be prosecuted and investigated. Restaurant A was caught falsely labeling Australian goat meat as "using only domestic black goat" on the menu. Restaurant B mixed Australian and domestic goat meat but labeled the menu as "domestic" and displayed a sign stating "100% domestically farmed" while operating. Additionally, Restaurant C used Australian goat meat and labeled the origin as Australian on the origin display board, but indicated domestic origin on banners and other internal and external promotional materials, misleading consumers about the origin.

According to Seoul's investigation, these violating establishments used imported meat because domestic goat meat costs over 30,000 KRW per kilogram, whereas Australian goat meat is priced below 20,000 KRW, making it more than 1.5 times cheaper. In fact, the consumer retail price difference between domestic and Australian goat meat ranges from 2,000 KRW to 9,000 KRW per serving of goat soup.

Seoul requests that citizens report any food-related crimes such as origin labeling violations through the Seoul Metropolitan Government website or other channels. If reports contribute to the public interest with decisive evidence, rewards of up to 200 million KRW are provided according to the ordinance.

Kang Ok-hyun, head of the Seoul Civil Life Judicial Police Unit, said, “We conducted this special inspection to eradicate deceptive practices taking advantage of the increasing demand for goat meat, a popular health food in summer. We will continue to do our best to eliminate illegal activities so that citizens can trust the labeled origin and consume safely.”

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