By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
Just as paparazzi follow Hollywood stars for a living, hoping to catch them slipping up on film ㅡ many so called ``sikparazzi,'' a combination of the Korean word for food and paparazzi, will be checking up on restaurants and food venders to detect unhygienic, inappropriate or fake ingredients, also in the hopes of a payday.
The Korea Food and Drug Administration said Thursday that these citizen reporters, or tipsters, will be paid up to 150,000 won ($100) per report of an illegal practice.
Sikparazzi who find venders selling food containing foreign bodies such as blades, glass and metal will receive 30,000 won. Informants on sellers of out-of-date food and substandard water will get 70,000 won; while those reporting manipulators of country of origin labeling will get 100,000 won.
Tipsters on importers unauthorized food, unregistered distributors of imported foods and unauthorized meat will receive between 100,000 won and 150,000 won.
The ``reward'' system will be effective from March.
The move comes as a response to growing public anxiety over food safety. Earlier this year, the discovery of a rat's head in a shrimp snack and a razor blade in a can of tuna infuriated consumers.
Resumption of U.S. beef imports caused people to demand the right to know the country of origin of what they were eating ― making notification and labeling an important issue.
The toxic chemical melamine detected in milk products and eggs also contributed to anxiety toward imported foods. Melamine was first detected in China but was later found in many Chinese products that were exported worldwide.
President Lee Myung-bak has vowed to seek effective ways of institutionalizing a system whereby consumers can buy food without worrying about their safety.
Consumer groups welcomed the plan but restaurant owners are worried over the flourishing of ``professional'' tipsters, who make a living through monitoring their food.
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