Found a Cigarette Butt While Eating Perilla Leaves Bought at a Side Dish Store: "It Was a Cheap Chinese Product with Low Labor Costs"

A side dish store. Not directly related to specific expressions in the article. [Image source=Pixabay]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] Following franchise chicken, controversy has arisen after cigarette butts were found in perilla leaves sold at a local side dish store. As reports of foreign substances found in recently sold food continue, consumer concerns about food hygiene are growing.

According to a Yonhap News report on the 20th, Mr. A, who lives in Goyang City, Gyeonggi Province, discovered a cigarette butt in seasoned perilla leaves purchased from a nearby side dish store on the 11th. While eating the perilla leaves, he felt an unusual texture and spat it out to check, finding it was the filter of a cigarette butt. Additionally, paper attached to the cigarette filter was found inside the perilla leaf container.

Mr. A said he rinsed his mouth immediately after chewing the cigarette butt due to the smell. Fortunately, no health issues were reported.

According to the report, the product Mr. A purchased was not made directly by the side dish store but was supplied and sold as a product made from Chinese perilla leaves.

Chinese perilla leaves are imported as raw materials by trading companies, then processed by domestic side dish manufacturers. Afterwards, distribution companies supply them to retail stores for sale. Perilla leaf side dishes require significant manual labor from harvesting to processing, leading to a high dependence on China due to lower labor costs. Yonhap News reported that Chinese perilla leaves are estimated to account for about 70% of domestic side dish stores.

The companies believe it is unlikely that cigarettes entered during the domestic distribution process. They judge that the cigarette butt found by Mr. A likely got into the perilla leaves during harvesting, washing, or pickling processes in China. However, they added that foreign substances might not have been filtered out when the first-processed perilla leaves were washed again domestically and mixed with seasoning to make the side dish.

Mr. A reported the incident to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. He expressed anger, saying, "I can't believe that someone else's smoked cigarette was so easily served as a side dish on my family's table," and "My family was so upset after discovering the cigarette butt that we couldn't sleep well."

He also criticized the complacent response of the related companies. Mr. A said, "Although the side dish store indicated the country of origin, I did not see any label showing it was Chinese when I purchased it," and "If I had known it was Chinese, I would not have bought it." He urged the authorities to take measures, questioning, "I wonder how food hygiene is being managed."

The representative of the company that imported the controversial perilla leaves reportedly apologized to Mr. A and expressed willingness to compensate. He said, "We are very surprised that this happened despite strict hygiene management at the Chinese factory," and "We apologize to the consumer and have food liability insurance, so we want to provide compensation." A representative of the perilla leaf manufacturer stated, "We tried to reach an amicable agreement with the consumer, but it did not go well," and "We heard the consumer reported to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, and we also hope the exact cause will be identified."

A fried cigarette was found inside the chicken delivered from a franchise chicken restaurant.
[Photo by Online Community Capture]

Meanwhile, on the 10th, a controversy arose when fried cigarettes were found inside delivered chicken.

At that time, Mr. B, who was eating chicken ordered from a franchise chicken restaurant in Changwon, Gyeongnam, found a cigarette butt coated with batter. When Mr. B called the store to complain, the response was even more absurd.

Mr. B claimed, "The two store owners said they don't smoke and acted like they didn't know, then told me it was French fries and asked me to try eating it," and "When they hung up the phone, they said, 'Enjoy your meal.'" When Mr. B angrily asked, "How can I eat this?" they replied, "Just take that part out and enjoy your meal."

After this incident was reported in the media, it sparked public outrage. The franchise store in question was suspended from business for 15 days and reportedly expressed to the headquarters their intention to close, saying they did not want to cause harm to other franchise stores.

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