2 Tons of Garlic Scape Side Dishes Made from Illegal Livestock Farms Sold

by Lim Juhyeong

Published 12 Dec.2024 08:28(KST)

Updated 12 Dec.2024 08:32(KST)

MFDS Sends Food Hygiene Act Violators to Prosecution

What if the side dishes I eat were made in an open livestock barn infested with pests and rats?

A food manufacturing company that produced and sold pickled vegetables without business registration in an unsanitary space has been referred to the prosecution. The place where the food was made was a livestock barn, where measures to block contaminants or pests were not properly implemented.

Illegal pickled food manufacturing site. Provided by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety

On the 11th, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced that it had sent the CEO of Company A to the prosecution on charges of violating the Food Sanitation Act for manufacturing and selling pickled foods in an unsanitary environment without registering a food manufacturing and processing business.

It was reported that in July, the Ministry obtained information about a company manufacturing pickled foods unsanitarily in a "livestock barn," which is not a food manufacturing and processing facility. Subsequently, the Ministry launched an investigation to determine the exact details of the regulatory violations.

Pickled vegetables made at the distillery. Provided by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety

As a result of the investigation, it was found that from May 2 to September 24 of this year, the CEO of Company A produced "vegetable pickles" by adding salt and food additives to garlic scapes (commonly called "maneuljjong" in the market) for about five months without registering a food manufacturing and processing business. The amount of vegetable pickles produced at this location reached 15 tons, worth approximately 170 million KRW. Among these, about 2 tons, valued at around 40 million KRW, were already sold through distribution companies and traditional markets.

The CEO of Company A had been operating a food manufacturing and processing business in Seoul but, anticipating difficulties in securing garlic scapes next year, he carried out this operation to produce a larger quantity of products in advance. He reportedly made the pickled vegetables in an unlicensed building in the form of a livestock barn in Gyeonggi Province, which he usually used as a warehouse.

During this process, he used agricultural water that had not undergone water quality testing in an open workspace without pest or rodent control facilities. He also used stones collected from an unverified quarry as pressing stones.