The Seoul Municipal Police Bureau for Civil Affairs said on the 13th that it uncovered 13 businesses that violated the Act on Labeling of Origin and the Food Sanitation Act.
These businesses were caught in inspections of 102 manufacturers and retailers of holiday high-demand foods conducted from Sept. 15 to 26, ahead of Chuseok.
Of the 13 violations uncovered, there were nine cases of false or confusing labeling of origin, three cases of no origin labeling, and one case of selling products past their use-by date.
For example, a delivery application listed red pepper powder, a materials and supplies item, as domestic, but it actually used product from China. There was also a case of falsely labeling Mexican pork belly as domestic and selling it.
Seoul said it plans to refer the nine locations that falsely or confusingly labeled origin to the prosecution after investigation. It will ask the competent authorities to impose fines on the remaining four locations that failed to label origin or sold products past their use-by date.
Kim Hyun-jung, head of the Seoul Municipal Police Bureau for Civil Affairs, said, "We will focus on managing foods that are popular with citizens in each period to create a safe food environment."