Inspections of agrifood origin labeling to run from Monday through Sept. 23, with 285 special judicial police and 2,500 honorary monitors deployed; livestock traceability numbers and ratings to be checked at more than 1,000 sites; penalties for false traceability labeling to tighten next year

A guide to distinguishing domestic from imported origins for major chuseok ritual and gift foods. [National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service]
A guide to distinguishing domestic from imported origins for major chuseok ritual and gift foods. [National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service]

Authorities are launching a sweeping crackdown on origin-label fraud in agricultural and livestock products ahead of the chuseok holiday season, targeting everything from online shopping platforms and food manufacturers to hypermarkets and traditional markets. Where livestock traceability numbers are suspected to be falsified, DNA identity testing will also be conducted.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said Sunday it will conduct a joint inspection of livestock traceability numbers, quality ratings and origin labeling from Monday through Sept. 23 — a period of roughly three weeks. The National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service, known as NAQS, will simultaneously carry out a nationwide origin-labeling inspection of agricultural foods sold as chuseok gifts or ritual offerings.

The livestock inspection will involve NAQS, the Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency, local governments and the Korea Institute for Animal Products Quality Evaluation. More than 1,000 sites will be checked, including online retailers suspected of violations and distributors with prior records of breaching the livestock traceability system.

Where on-site inspections raise suspicions of falsified livestock traceability numbers, DNA identity testing will be carried out in parallel.

A guide to distinguishing domestic from imported origins for major chuseok ritual and gift foods. [National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service]
A guide to distinguishing domestic from imported origins for major chuseok ritual and gift foods. [National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service]

The agrifood origin inspections will proceed in two phases based on distribution channel. The first phase, running Monday through Saturday, will focus on manufacturers, processors and online retailers. The second phase, from Sept. 14 through Sept. 23, will expand the crackdown to hypermarkets and traditional markets.

Fifteen high-demand chuseok items will be the primary targets: napa cabbage, radish, apples, pears, persimmons, zucchini, onions, garlic, potatoes, beef, pork, chicken, eggs, chestnuts and jujubes.

Products with a recent history of frequent origin-labeling violations will also receive heightened scrutiny. The five most commonly cited items for origin-labeling violations over the past three years — from 2024 through June this year — were napa cabbage kimchi, pork, soybeans, beef and chicken.

A guide to distinguishing domestic from imported origins for major chuseok ritual and gift foods. [National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service]
A guide to distinguishing domestic from imported origins for major chuseok ritual and gift foods. [National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service]

NAQS will deploy 285 special judicial police officers and 2,500 honorary monitors from consumer and producer organizations. Inspectors will look for businesses falsely labeling foreign agricultural products as domestic, passing off produce from lesser-known regions as famous regional specialties, and failing to display origin information at all. Joint crackdowns on regional specialty products and forest products will also be conducted in cooperation with the Korea Forest Service, the Korea Customs Service and local governments.

Falsely labeling the origin of a product can result in up to seven years in prison or a fine of up to 100 million won ($73,600). Failing to display an origin label carries an administrative fine of between 50,000 won and 10 million won.

Penalties for using livestock traceability numbers to misrepresent quality ratings or origins will also be tightened. Currently, falsifying a traceability number is punishable by a fine or administrative penalty of up to 5 million won. Under an amendment to the Act on Traceability Management of Livestock and Livestock Products passed July 7, the punishment will increase to up to one year in prison or a fine of up to 10 million won, effective Jan. 8 next year.

"The chuseok holiday season sees a sharp rise in the consumption of gift and ritual foods, so we plan to strengthen both origin-labeling inspections and public awareness efforts to ensure people can buy Korean agrifood products with confidence," NAQS Director General Kim Cheol said. "We also ask consumers to carefully check origin labels when purchasing gifts and ritual items."


adastra@heraldcorp.com