Government Conducts Radiation Tests on Solar Salt at All 837 Salt Farms Nationwide

The government is expanding the radiation inspection of solar salt to all 837 domestic salt fields.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced on the 30th that the radiation inspection of domestically produced solar salt, which has been conducted since April this year, has been expanded to all 837 salt fields starting from the 29th.

The ministry has been conducting radiation inspections on 150 representative salt fields, which account for 50% of domestic solar salt production. As of now, 109 cases (86 locations) have been inspected, all of which passed the suitability assessment. The remaining inspections will be completed by October, when solar salt production ends. From November, solar salt stored in warehouses after this year’s production will also be inspected.

The inspection standards and duration apply the domestic food standard of 100 Bq (becquerels) per 1 kg, and the inspection method is also conducted with the food standard of 10,000 seconds. Inspection results will be disclosed through the "Marine and Seafood Radiation Safety Information Website" operated by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.

Meanwhile, to stabilize prices of domestic solar salt and seafood and establish distribution order, a disturbance report center is being operated, and from this day, joint inspections will be conducted together with the Korea Coast Guard and local governments. The government-released stockpiled solar salt is currently being sold at large supermarkets.

Cho Seung-hwan, Minister of Oceans and Fisheries, said, "We are conducting inspections more thoroughly and without any setbacks so that the public does not feel groundless anxiety," and added, "We will ensure that people can purchase our domestic solar salt with confidence."

On the 7th, interest in sea salt surged following Japan's plan to discharge contaminated water from its nuclear power plant, leading to hoarding behavior. Salt is being sold at a large supermarket in Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

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