Now Even Dining Tables... Cadmium Detected at 4 Times the Standard in 'Jikgu' Bowls

Seoul City Conducts Safety Tests on 58 Overseas Direct Purchase Food Containers
Cadmium May Cause Kidney Damage if Entered into the Body

It has been confirmed that cadmium levels exceeding four times the standard were detected in a dish purchased directly from an overseas online platform.

On the 4th, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that safety inspections conducted on 58 food containers sold on overseas platforms found cadmium levels exceeding 4.14 times the standard in one enamel dish. Cadmium is a harmful substance that can damage the kidneys and reduce bone density and strength when it enters the body.

Enamelware detected with cadmium exceeding the standard in Seoul City's safety inspection./Photo by Seoul City

Previously, the city conducted seven rounds of safety inspections on 93 children's products, with 40 products (43%) found to contain harmful substances and deemed non-compliant. Having focused inspections mainly on children's products, the city has expanded the scope to include food containers and other items that can directly affect human health.

This inspection result covers 58 products out of 140 items from AliExpress, Temu, and Shein, which are popular among domestic consumers, with inspections completed by the end of last month since April. Inspections on the remaining 82 products, including stainless steel pots, glass cups, silicone containers, and wooden salad bowls, are ongoing, and results will be released as soon as they are completed. Next month, inspections will focus on tumblers; in August, storage containers; in September, zipper bags; in October, cooking utensils; and in November, party dishes.

The city plans to request overseas online platforms to suspend sales of products confirmed to be harmful, effectively blocking access to these items. In fact, platforms such as AliExpress and Temu have already taken measures to ban the sale of products containing harmful substances upon the city's request.

Kim Tae-hee, Director of the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Citizen Health Bureau, stated, "Fortunately, not many products have been found to contain harmful substances, but since food utensils and containers are used by citizens to eat or store food, ensuring their safety is more important than any other product. Seoul will minimize consumer harm through monitoring and safety inspections of products frequently purchased by domestic consumers, such as food utensils and containers."

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