Dieting Leads to 'Stomach Pain'... Online Delivery Chicken Breast Salad Tests Positive for E. coli

Korea Consumer Agency Investigates Safety of 30 Subscription Products
E. coli Exceeds Standards in 13 Products
Non-compliance with Nutrition Claims and False Advertising Also Found

On the 9th, the Korea Consumer Agency announced that, as a result of investigating the safety of 30 subscription-based chicken breast salad products sold on online platforms, Escherichia coli exceeding the standard was detected in 13 (43.3%) products.

Specifically, Escherichia coli exceeding the standard was detected in chicken breast salad products sold by 'Delicious Salad', 'Mabeopgateun Salad', 'Morning Food', 'Basrak Diet', 'Bao Fresh', 'BT Lab', 'Salgram', 'Salad You', 'Slim Cook', 'Yunsikdan', 'Eat Like It', 'Palpal Diet Research Institute', and 'Fresh Code'. However, food poisoning bacteria such as Salmonella, enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus aureus were not detected in any of the products.

Among these products, nine businesses responded to the Consumer Agency with quality improvement plans, and four businesses (Delicious Salad, Mabeopgateun Salad, Morning Food, Salad You) have stopped sales.

The Consumer Agency also added that, among six products that emphasized specific nutritional components such as low sodium and low calories based on the safety investigation results, five products did not meet the nutritional emphasis labeling standards set by the 'Standards for Food Labeling'. Low sodium means a salt content of less than 305 mg per 100g, and low calories mean less than 40 kcal per 100g. Regarding the emphasized nutritional components, two products emphasizing high protein met the standards, but all five products emphasizing low sodium and low calories exceeded the standards and were deemed non-compliant, according to the Consumer Agency.

Precautions When Purchasing Salad Online. Provided by the Consumer Agency

Additionally, among the 30 products investigated, the nutritional content of 17 products that displayed nutritional information was examined, and six products were found to be outside the allowable error range set by the standards. In particular, fat content was found to be up to 185% higher than indicated. Two products were found to have posted misleading advertisements such as weight loss experiences. The Food Labeling and Advertising Act prohibits labeling and advertising that may mislead consumers into believing that food has disease prevention effects or confuse it with health functional foods.

Furthermore, among the 30 products investigated, 12 products posted advertisements on their online sales pages that could mislead consumers, such as 'diabetes', 'weight loss purpose', and '15 kg weight loss', indicating a need for improvement.

The Consumer Agency urged, "Carefully check the nutritional content, always refrigerate products received when purchasing online, and consume them as soon as possible."

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