"Scallop, Where Did You Come From?"

Mapo-gu, Special Inspection on the Origin of Imported Seafood

From July 1, 5 additional types of seafood will be subject to mandatory origin labeling, expanding the total to 20 types

Mapo-gu enforces mandatory origin labeling on all general restaurants handling seafood in the area... fines and prosecution for non-compliance

Mapo-gu (Mayor Park Gang-su) is conducting a 'Special Joint Inspection on the Origin Labeling of Imported Seafood' together with consumer food inspectors targeting food service establishments in the area until the 30th of this month.

Since Mapo-gu has popular markets such as Mangwon Market and agricultural and marine products markets frequented by residents, this inspection is being carried out to alleviate residents' concerns about seafood origin following Japan's decision to discharge contaminated water from Fukushima.

The inspection targets general restaurants handling seafood in the area, focusing on compliance with the Food Sanitation Act, including ▲ matters related to origin labeling, ▲ compliance with hygienic handling standards of food, ▲ facility standards, ▲ compliance by business operators and personal hygiene of employees, and ▲ other guidance and recommendations.

In particular, the types of seafood subject to origin labeling in restaurants will be expanded from 15 types to 20 types starting next month. The existing 15 types are flatfish (Gwang-eo), rockfish (Ureok), red sea bream, loach, eel (freshwater eel), octopus, mackerel, cutlassfish, pollock (excluding dried products such as Hwangtae and Bugeo), squid, blue crab, yellow croaker, tuna, anglerfish, and webfoot octopus.

The 5 newly added seafood types are ▲ scallops ▲ sea snails ▲ yellowtail ▲ abalone ▲ and flatfish (Buse). In addition to these items, all live seafood stored and displayed in aquariums for cooking, sale, or serving are subject to mandatory origin labeling.

The district will immediately correct minor violations on site, and for other violations, a 10-day correction period will be given. If corrections are not completed within this period, fines or prosecution will be pursued.

Park Gang-su, Mayor of Mapo-gu, said, “The special inspection on the origin of imported seafood aims to guide and enforce proper origin labeling by business owners, which helps alleviate residents' food safety concerns and builds mutual trust between business owners and consumers.” He added, “We will do our best to protect the health of residents' dining tables and ensure that local food business owners can operate smoothly based on trust.”

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