Seongnam City Conducts 'Food Hygiene Management Diagnostic Evaluation' for 592 Local Sites

[Asia Economy (Seongnam) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Seongnam City in Gyeonggi Province will conduct a food hygiene management diagnostic evaluation targeting 592 establishments in the district from August 1 to September 23 to prevent food poisoning during the summer season.

The evaluation targets include ▲300 group meal service facilities in companies, hospitals, and public institutions ▲238 large restaurants with a business area of 200~299㎡ ▲34 large restaurants with poor hygiene last year ▲20 restaurants selling cold noodles (naengmyeon).

Seongnam City formed a diagnostic evaluation team (5 teams) consisting of 10 consumer food hygiene inspectors for the evaluation. The evaluation team will visit the establishments and inspect 30 to 41 items across 7 categories.

The main inspection items include the cook’s wearing of hygiene caps and masks, hygienic management of cooking facilities and utensils, storage temperature and preservation status of food ingredients, reuse of food, expiration of raw materials, and handling management of eggs.

The contamination levels of the cook’s hands, kitchen knives, and cutting boards will be measured on-site using a simple testing device. Education and publicity to prevent food poisoning caused by pathogens such as Salmonella will also be conducted simultaneously.

The city scores the inspection results according to an evaluation table and classifies them into grades A (very safe), B (safe), C (caution), D (danger), and E (very dangerous). Establishments receiving D or E grades will be re-evaluated until corrections are made, and if not corrected, administrative actions such as fines will be imposed.

Earlier, on the 14th, the city conducted a 'Food Poisoning Incident Response Drill' at Pangyo Middle School in Bundang-gu.

A city official stated, "During the hot and humid summer weather, the amount of ultraviolet rays that have sterilizing effects decreases, increasing bacterial growth and the risk of food poisoning, so thorough hygiene management is necessary," adding, "We are focusing administrative efforts to prevent food poisoning and enhance initial response capabilities in case of incidents."

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