Officials collect agricultural products for inspection ahead of kimjang season. [Provided by Daegu]
Officials collect agricultural products for inspection ahead of kimjang season. [Provided by Daegu]

Daegu is stepping up food safety management ahead of the kimjang season — the traditional period of making kimchi for winter — so residents can shop for ingredients with confidence.

The Daegu Institute of Health and Environment announced Monday that it will conduct comprehensive inspections of 125 seasonal kimjang staples sold at wholesale markets and hypermarkets through Nov. 30.

The inspections follow an emergency check in September, prompted by controversy over the illegal use of formaldehyde in Chinese-grown cabbage, in which 10 samples of cabbage kimchi all tested negative. Authorities have since expanded the scope to cover agricultural and fishery products, processed foods, and utensils, containers and packaging used throughout the kimjang process.

Items under inspection include 60 agricultural products such as cabbage and radish, 25 fishery products including oysters and clams, 20 processed foods such as sea salt, red pepper powder and salted fermented seafood, and 20 utensils, containers and packaging items such as kimchi containers and kimjang mats.

Testing will cover pesticide residues and heavy metals in agricultural products, veterinary drugs and radioactivity in fishery products, and heavy metals, tar colorants and mold counts in processed foods.

Kimchi containers and kimjang mats will be closely examined for harmful substances including lead and potassium permanganate consumption levels.

Any products found non-compliant will be reported immediately to the relevant authorities, pulled from distribution and subjected to swift administrative action including recall and disposal.

Shin Sang-hee, director of the Daegu Institute of Health and Environment, said the agency would "preemptively block the distribution of non-compliant products through prompt and thorough pre-season inspections," adding that it would "do its utmost in food safety management so that residents can prepare for kimjang with peace of mind."


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