Gyeonggi Special Judicial Police Detect 51 Illegal Activities at Group Catering Facilities in the Province

Gyeonggi Provincial Government

Gyeonggi Province has uncovered violations committed by 'group catering facilities' and 'commissioned catering businesses,' including falsely labeling the origin of products and storing items that were 533 days past their expiration date.

The Gyeonggi Province Special Judicial Police announced on the 13th that from the 5th to the 23rd of last month, they inspected 370 group catering facilities and commissioned catering businesses within the province and found 51 locations violating the Food Sanitation Act and other regulations.

Among the major violations, a commissioned catering business at nursing home A in Yongin City provided kimchi made with Chinese red pepper powder to residents while falsely labeling the origin as domestic. At a commissioned catering business of company B in Dongducheon City, refrigerated products were stored at room temperature, resulting in a violation of food standards.

A commissioned catering business at nursing home C in Osan City was found to have stored four items, including seaweed powder, up to 65 days past their expiration date, together with normal products provided to the elderly, without labeling them as 'for disposal or educational use.' Commissioned catering businesses at companies D and E in Guri City and Bucheon City were caught storing products up to 533 days past their expiration date inside the business premises for cooking purposes, without labeling them as 'for disposal or educational use,' along with regular ingredients.

A group catering facility at academy F in Gwangju City was caught storing preserved food portions for one serving, which must be kept for at least 144 hours for epidemiological investigation in case of food poisoning, but the preserved food stored was different from the actual menu served.

Under the current 'Origin Labeling Act,' falsely or confusingly labeling the origin of products is punishable by up to seven years in prison or a fine of up to 100 million KRW. Additionally, the 'Food Sanitation Act' stipulates that violations of food standards can result in imprisonment of up to five years or fines up to 50 million KRW. Storing expired products for cooking purposes or failing to keep preserved food for epidemiological investigation can lead to fines of up to 10 million KRW for group catering facilities, and imprisonment of up to three years or fines up to 30 million KRW for commissioned catering businesses.

Hong Eun-gi, head of the Provincial Civil Affairs Special Judicial Police, emphasized, "Since food safety accidents such as food poisoning at group catering facilities used by many people can cause significant harm, we will strictly punish the companies found violating related regulations. We will continue inspections to do our best to prevent safety accidents during the summer season."

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