Cigarette Butts Found in Nogari Are Again Made in China

Third Incident After Foreign Substance Found in Chinese Perilla Leaves
Black Spots Presumed to Be Discarded Cigarette Butts
Seemingly Attached During Catching and Drying Process

A cigarette butt was found in a Chinese dried pollack product. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Juri] Amid recent controversies over foreign substances found in perilla leaves from China, cigarette butts have now been discovered in Chinese dried pollack products.

According to Yonhap News on the 7th, Mr. A, a man in his 40s living in Chungcheongnam-do, found a cigarette butt filter attached to dried pollack from Company B, which he purchased at a large supermarket last month. The filter had black spots on it, suggesting it was discarded after being smoked.

On the 5th, Mr. A contacted the dried pollack manufacturer to file a complaint and subsequently reported the matter to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.

Upon investigation, it was confirmed that Company B’s dried pollack was a Chinese product. Chinese fishermen catch the pollack at sea and dry it, and it is presumed that the cigarette butt stuck to the dried pollack during this process.

Company B is emphasizing cleanliness to their Chinese partners, but they believe the issue arose because they were unable to conduct on-site hygiene inspections in China for 2 to 3 years following the outbreak of COVID-19.

A representative from Company B stated, "We sincerely apologize to our consumers. We will strengthen hygiene management to prevent such incidents from happening again. We are increasing the number of personnel inspecting for foreign substances, but since it is a manual process, mistakes can occur."

Earlier last month, cigarette butts were found in Chinese perilla leaves sold at a local side dish store, and perilla leaves mixed with sand were also distributed, raising concerns.

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