The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said it will strengthen food and beverage safety management and measures to prevent narcotics misuse ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit at the end of this month.
Oh Yu-gyeong, head of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, said at the National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee's audit on the 21st that the agency is operating a food and beverage safety support team to ensure the successful hosting of the APEC summit, and will strengthen hygiene inspections of kitchens and catering facilities while assigning dedicated inspectors on a standing basis to the conference venue and banquet halls.
Since September, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has formed a "food and beverage safety support team," designated the director of the Food Safety Policy Bureau as Head of Team, and has been operating a cooperation and rapid response system. Together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs APEC Preparation and Planning Group and the Presidential Security Service's Security and Safety Control Group, it is conducting mock drills for responses to food poisoning and food incidents, and during the event will maintain a 24-hour rapid response system. Dedicated inspectors will be stationed on-site to conduct food and beverage testing inside the venue, and an emergency response team will be organized to enable immediate on-site action.
By Oct. 25 before the event, advance hygiene inspections and norovirus testing will be conducted on about 940 food and beverage providers, including the conference venue, lodging facilities, sponsors, and in-flight meal manufacturers. During the event from Oct. 26 to Nov. 1, 20 priority management sites, including the conference venue, hotels, banquet halls, and a cruise, will be designated for hygiene checks. Seven rapid food poisoning testing vehicles will be deployed on-site to test suspected samples within four hours, and if contaminated food is identified, immediate disposal and menu replacement will be carried out.
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety also plans to push measures to prevent narcotics misuse and addiction. Minister Oh said the agency will strengthen predictive monitoring through prior verification of patients' prescription histories and an artificial intelligence (AI)-based integrated monitoring system for narcotics misuse, and will block the early inflow of new drugs into the country by shortening the advance notice period for designating temporary narcotics.
At the audit, lawmakers also continued to point out blind spots in managing the harms of e-cigarettes. Minister Oh said that not only synthetic nicotine but also similar nicotine needs to be managed under the same regulatory framework, adding that an analysis method has already been developed for synthetic nicotine and that a testing method will be prepared for similar nicotine as part of managing the harms of tobacco. She added that ingredient testing at the customs clearance stage and standards for managing harmful substances will be strengthened, and overseas regulatory cases are under review.
The spread of green algae in the Nakdong River and concerns about national food safety also emerged as key issues at the audit. Seo Mihwa of the Democratic Party of Korea said that the green algae occurring in the Nakdong River contains microcystin, which has a toxicity tens of times stronger than potassium cyanide, and pointed out that agricultural products grown with this water are distributed nationwide, threatening people's food.
In response, Minister Oh said the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, in cooperation with environmental groups, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and the climate ministry, has launched a fact-finding survey of agricultural products grown near the Nakdong River, and said monitoring will be strengthened to prevent toxic substances such as microcystin from entering the human body, with the results to be disclosed transparently.