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| A man who appears to be naked stands in a pool of cabbages, in order to put some of the cabbage soaked in the murky liquid in the shovel of an excavator, in this screenshot from a Weibo video in March. After this video was made public, concerns have risen here over the hygiene of the production process of kimchi imported from China. Korea Times file |
Two out of four Chinese salt-cured cabbage products were also found to have used preservatives that are not permitted in Korea.
The ministry found the substandard products during an intensified inspection of imported kimchi and kimchi-related ingredients from March 12 to May 7. The inspection was made in response to public concerns over the hygiene of the production process for kimchi produced in China, after a video clip showed a man pickling cabbages in a cloudy pool of them there.
It examined the 289 products from 55 Chinese companies imported here, and detected Yersinia enterocolitica, a type of food poisoning bacteria, in 15 of them.
In 50 percent of the four salt-cured cabbage products made by two Chinese companies, the ministry found dehydroacetate, a type of preservative that is not allowed in salt-cured food products in Korea.
The ministry ordered the Chinese companies and Korean importers to send the products back to China or discard them. It also decided to conduct inspections four additional times when these companies' products are again imported, and requested the Chinese government take the necessary measures to improve the companies' hygiene practices.
The products have not been distributed in the market, as the inspections were conducted while they were still in customs.
Following the results of the inspection, the ministry decided to conduct Yersinia enterocolitica tests on all imported kimchi products, regardless of their country of origin.
