The National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service (NAQS) announced on the 11th that it discovered 180 companies that either did not label or falsely labeled the origin of napa cabbage kimchi and kimjang vegetables during inspections conducted from Oct. 10 to Nov. 6.
NAQS mobilized 10,029 people, including special judicial police officers and honorary inspectors, to inspect a total of 48,990 locations, including kimchi import and distribution companies, manufacturers, and restaurants.
Among the 180 locations caught for origin violations, general restaurants accounted for the most at 143 places. There were also 15 manufacturers, 6 rest areas, and 5 online retailers. By category, there were a total of 185 cases of origin labeling violations, with napa cabbage kimchi accounting for the most at 143 cases.
For example, a kimchi manufacturer in Iksan, North Jeolla Province, mixed Chinese and Korean cabbages to make napa cabbage kimchi and falsely labeled the origin as Korean. A company in Buk-gu, Daegu, processed and sold mixed Chinese and Korean garlic as minced garlic while falsely labeling the origin as Korean.
NAQS prosecuted 129 of the companies that falsely labeled the origin. For 51 companies that did not label the origin at all, it imposed fines totaling 15.15 million won.