'Illegal Activities Persist Among School Meal Suppliers'... Gyeonggi Special Judicial Police Detect 20 Cases

The Gyeonggi Provincial Special Judicial Police Unit conducted intensive inspections of school meal suppliers at the start of the new school year and detected 20 cases of illegal activity.

Major violations included a meat packaging and processing company located in Yongin that was found operating a freezer as a refrigerator without obtaining the required permit for the change.

A kimchi distribution agency in Gwangmyeong was caught storing kimchi, which must be refrigerated, at room temperature. A livestock product sales company in Hanam was found not complying with storage standards by keeping refrigerated livestock products in a freezer warehouse.

A food manufacturing and processing company in Hanam was found to have supplied products for about five months without conducting mandatory in-house quality inspections for processed fruit and vegetable products. In the same area, another company was caught packaging and selling frozen shrimp with false information regarding the manufacturer, importer, and distributor on the labels.

A company in Suwon was found storing 10 items, including carbonated beverages that had passed their expiration date, together with normal products without labeling them as “for disposal” or “for educational use.”

Results of Illegal Activities Detected in School Meal Supply Companies by the Gyeonggi Province Special Judicial Police Unit

The Gyeonggi Provincial Special Judicial Police Unit announced that it plans to take strict action against the detected companies, including referring them to the prosecution in accordance with relevant laws after conducting further investigations.

According to the Food Sanitation Act and the Livestock Products Sanitary Control Act, manufacturing, processing, selling, subdividing, transporting, displaying, or storing expired products, food, or raw materials for such purposes, or selling them, is punishable by up to three years of imprisonment or a fine of up to 30 million won. Violating standards related to the manufacturing, processing, use, cooking, or preservation of food can result in up to five years of imprisonment or a fine of up to 50 million won. Violating standards related to the processing, packaging, preservation, or distribution of livestock products can result in up to three years of imprisonment or a fine of up to 30 million won.

Kwon Moonjoo, head of the Gyeonggi Provincial Special Judicial Police Unit, stated, “Because school meals are directly linked to the health of growing students, food safety management is of utmost importance. We will do our best to eradicate illegal food manufacturing and distribution practices so that students can use school meal services with peace of mind.”

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