Seoul City Conducts Daily Sample Surveys of All Seafood in Response to Japanese Contaminated Water

Real-Time Disclosure of Test Results

Seoul City will conduct daily sample inspections of all seafood regardless of production area or species in response to the discharge of contaminated water from Japan's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, and will disclose the inspection results in real time through the 'Food Safety Information Website.' The city plans to completely block the distribution of seafood that has not undergone inspection.

Seoul City Hall

Seoul City announced that it will implement the 'Four Major Measures to Ensure Seafood Safety,' which include ▲daily inspections ▲sample surveys by all production areas and species ▲real-time disclosure of inspection results ▲expansion of the ‘Citizen Radiation Inspection Request System.’ Additionally, the ‘Citizen Radiation Inspection Request System,’ which allows citizens to directly request inspections to ensure food safety from radiation, will be expanded.

First, the city will conduct radiation inspections every day from Monday to Saturday (excluding Sundays, which are holidays) at major wholesale markets, and will expand the inspection targets from originally only imported seafood to include domestic seafood as well. Regardless of production area·or species, the city plans to conduct sample surveys of all types of seafood distributed within the city.

The ‘Radiation and Safety Inspection Results’ for seafood and distributed food products will be disclosed in real time through the Food Safety Information website or the Seoul Agro-Fisheries & Food Corporation homepage. The city plans to guide safety information by using the ‘Food Radiation Safety Traffic Light’ indicator so that citizens can easily understand the inspection results at a glance.

Furthermore, the city will trace the distribution channels of imported food and conduct special inspections on 20 types of products subject to mandatory origin labeling at 3,000 restaurants and retail stores handling Japanese seafood imported into Korea.

To this end, Seoul City (Citizen Health Bureau) will lead a ‘Food Radiation Safety Management T/F (Task Force)’ composed of about 10 experts in food safety and radiation fields to devise measures to minimize citizen anxiety and prevent damage related to the contaminated water discharge.

Going forward, Seoul City plans to significantly increase the volume of seafood inspections and shorten inspection periods, while promptly allocating budgets such as contingency funds to secure additional high-performance radiation inspection equipment (gamma nuclide analyzers) and expand personnel, thereby establishing a system that allows citizens to consume food with confidence.

Meanwhile, since May, the city has been operating a ‘Mobile Radiation Inspection Station’ once a month, which provides on-site inspections and delivers results within one hour upon request by consumers or merchants. The city anticipates increased citizen anxiety during the initial phase of contaminated water discharge and plans to expand inspectors to support frequent inspections. To enhance the reliability of inspections and alleviate citizen concerns, 24 citizens interested in agricultural and fishery distribution safety, called ‘Agricultural and Fishery Distribution Safety Keepers,’ are also participating in the safety inspections of agricultural and fishery products.

Seoul City reported that as of the end of July, a total of 9,956 seafood samples were inspected and subjected to focused testing at three wholesale markets, with no non-compliance detected.

A Seoul City official stated, “As concerns and anxieties about seafood increase following Japan’s decision to discharge contaminated water from Fukushima, we will thoroughly secure the safety of citizens’ food by expanding inspections and monitoring of radiation, residual pesticides, microorganisms, and other factors in both imported and domestic agricultural and fishery products.”

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