Government to Inspect Country of Origin Labeling and Safety of Agricultural and Fishery Products, including Online Platforms, in Preparation for Chuseok Holiday

- Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs, and Ministry of Food and Drug Safety to do intensive inspection of country of origin labeling and safety of agricultural and fishery products for gifts and food offering for ancestral rites during the Chuseok Special Inspection period

 The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF), Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs (MAFRA), and Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) announced that they will perform a comprehensive inspection of online and offline platforms—where transaction volumes have recently soared—from August 19 to September 13 to ensure the safety and labeling of agricultural and fishery products at the point of production.

 This joint ministry inspection will inspect violations of the point of production labeling of agricultural and fishery products and processed food products sold online and offline or violations of exceeding the appropriate standards for residual pesticides and heavy metals.

 The inspection focuses on traditional markets, supermarkets, and restaurants to check whether seafood such as squid, yellow corvina, and abalone and meat, fruits, vegetables, and mushrooms—which are in high demand as holiday gifts or food offered for ancestral rites—are correctly labeled with the country of origin and compliant with safety standards in preparation for the Chuseok holiday.

 Regarding the country of origin labeling of agricultural and fishery products sold online and offline, the crackdown team and honorary inspectors will jointly visit the sites and conduct real-time online monitoring to check the status of country of origin labeling. Anyone caught violating this will be subject to fines or criminal punishment.

 Moreover, regarding the safety of agricultural and fishery products, food hygiene inspectors will directly purchase them from online platforms and inspect them for residual pesticides, heavy metals, etc., and take measures such as sales bans, recalls for disposal, and criminal charges against agricultural and fishery products that fail to meet safety standards.

 The government plans to manage country of origin labeling strictly to create a distribution environment where people can trust and purchase agricultural and fishery products. They will collaborate with consumer organizations and related industries to ensure that the public can consume food safely through enhanced collection and inspection.