Implementation of 'Reward for Reporting' on Imported Foods with 7,000 Annual Collections and Inspections

MFDS Establishes 'Imported Food Distribution Management Plan'

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced on the 18th that it will establish and implement the "Imported Food Distribution Management Plan" this year to ensure the safety and quality of imported foods.

The main contents include ▲strengthening management of businesses importing foods that require focused control ▲ensuring the safety of imported foods in distribution ▲enhancing systematic safety management of overseas direct purchase foods.

Inspection photo of imported food products for safety control.
Photo by Asia Economy DB

First, foods consumed by vulnerable groups such as infants, pregnant and breastfeeding women, large-volume refrigerated and frozen products, widely consumed foods by the public, and foods with short consumption (distribution) periods are selected as priority management targets, and planned inspections will be conducted at 40 locations importing these products. A reward system for reporting violations will also be operated, providing rewards ranging from 50,000 to 300,000 KRW per case.

About 7,000 distributed imported foods, including widely consumed foods, foods with a history of non-compliance, and seasonal popular foods, will be collected and inspected throughout the year. In particular, acts of disguising products that cannot be used as food and distributing or selling them by exploiting the difficulty of distinguishing them with the naked eye will be cracked down on. To this end, proactive inspections will be conducted quarterly along with risk-based analysis inspections.

Purchasing and inspection of overseas direct purchase foods will be expanded, and legal grounds for systematic safety management will also be pursued. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety stated, "We will faithfully implement the distribution management plan to create an environment where consumers can purchase imported foods with confidence, and we will continue to strengthen the management of imported food distribution to ensure that safe imported foods are supplied to the public."

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