"Camping Fuels Contaminated with Hazardous Substances"... Methanol Levels Exceed Standards in Five Products Including Kof304

Korea Consumer Agency Tests 13 Products
Some Products Classified as Hazardous Chemicals

Methanol, which is harmful to humans, was found to exceed the standard limit in some camping fuel products used for cooking.

The Korea Consumer Agency announced on November 12 that, after testing and evaluating the quality and safety of 13 types of cooking fuel for camping, 5 out of 8 solid ethanol products contained methanol above the standard limit of 10%, classifying them as hazardous chemicals.

Solid ethanol product with high methanol content. Provided by the Korea Consumer Agency

Methanol can cause headaches, dizziness, and vomiting when inhaled, and is converted in the body to formaldehyde and formic acid, which can result in optic nerve damage. Under the Chemical Substances Control Act, substances containing 10% or more methanol are classified as hazardous chemicals, as even short-term exposure can have adverse health effects.

The products found to exceed the methanol limit were: "Solid Fuel" (56.7% methanol content) by CK Korea Co., Ltd.; "Bulmandaeh Ethanol Mini Solid Fuel" (30%) by Kof304; "Acacia Ethanol Solid Fuel" (28%) by Dongyang International; "Coco Ethanol Solid Fuel" (25.1%) by Cocowill; and "Domestic Camping Ignition Agent Brazier Ethanol Solid Fuel" (24.2%) by EJ&CNC.

These companies stated that, following the Korea Consumer Agency’s recommendations for improvement, they would halt sales of existing products and offer exchanges or refunds. However, Kof304 did not respond with an improvement plan.

"Newvia Ethanol Solid Fuel" by YS Company contained 7.1% methanol, which did not classify it as a hazardous chemical, but its methanol content was still higher compared to "Raon Ethanol Solid Fuel" (0.1%) by Raon L&C and "Firefox Multipurpose Ethanol Solid Fuel" (0.02%) by Samsung Chemical. The Korea Consumer Agency recommended that the relevant business operator eliminate the use of methanol, a potential risk factor, and the company responded with a quality improvement plan.

The Korea Consumer Agency also checked the safety of five types of molded charcoal in addition to solid fuels. "Hosanhwalhwalta Molded Charcoal" by Hosanchacoal was found to contain arsenic at nine times the standard limit (1.0 mg/kg), rendering it non-compliant. In addition, "Yaja Bulsotan" by Science Charcoal and "Aurora" by Carbontech were found to have omitted the moisture content and manufacturing date labeling, respectively.

The Korea Consumer Agency stated, "We will continue to provide the results of tests on household chemical products to ensure consumer safety in the future."

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