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Busan Metropolitan City to Conduct “Special Investigation into Chuseok Holiday Food Manufacturing and Processing Businesses”

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Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced that it will conduct a “Special Investigation into Chuseok Holiday Food Manufacturing and Processing Businesses” for five weeks from September 1 to October 2.

This investigation is being carried out ahead of the Chuseok holiday to block illegal activities that threaten the safety of citizens’ food and to establish a safe distribution environment for holiday foods.
○ The inspection targets include Chuseok holiday foods such as traditional Korean sweets (hangwa), rice cakes, and Korean beef (hanwoo). The investigation will adopt an on-site approach, directly checking hygiene conditions as well as the manufacturing and distribution processes. The primary targets are food manufacturing and processing businesses, as well as livestock processing and sales businesses.

The investigation will focus on ▲false or misleading labeling of the country of origin of agricultural, livestock, and marine products ▲violations of food handling standards and specifications ▲false or exaggerated labeling of food content ▲use of food ingredients without proper labeling ▲use and sale of expired products, and other illegal activities that frequently occur during the holiday season.
○ In addition, the city’s Special Judicial Police will cooperate with specialized testing agencies, including the Busan Metropolitan City Institute of Health & Environment, to thoroughly monitor illegal activities using scientific enforcement methods such as food composition analysis and country-of-origin verification.

If violations are detected during the special investigation, strict measures will be taken in accordance with relevant laws, including criminal prosecution and notification to the competent authorities.
○ For example, ▲false labeling of country of origin is punishable under the “Act on Labeling of Origin of Agricultural and Fishery Products” by imprisonment of up to seven years or a fine of up to 100 million won ▲violations of food handling standards and specifications are subject to imprisonment of up to five years or a fine of up to 50 million won under the “Food Sanitation Act” ▲false or exaggerated labeling of food content is punishable under the “Act on Labeling and Advertising of Foods, etc.” by imprisonment of up to five years or a fine of up to 50 million won.

Meanwhile, the city’s Special Judicial Police are also accepting reports of illegal activities from citizens. Relevant information can be reported to the Food Investigation Team (051-888-3091, 3096).

Kim Gi-hwan, Director General of the Citizens Safety Office, stated, “This special investigation goes beyond a simple inspection to directly examine the field, which is meaningful in creating an environment where citizens can safely purchase and consume food. We will continue thorough on-site inspections and ongoing management to prevent fraudulent and substandard foods and make Busan a healthy and happy city for its citizens.”