Often found at theaters and museums, Kwon Mee-yoo has covered a wide range of cultural fields from K-pop and dramas to theater and fine art for over a decade. Now as K-Culture Desk editor, she tries to connect Korean culture with global readers through fresh perspectives.
Dead mouse found in E-Marts own-label flour
By Kwon Mee-yoo
Staff reporter
A foreign object suspected of being a dead mouse was found in a bag of E-Mart own-label flour leading health authorities to order a suspension of sales.
The Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) said Monday it has received a complaint from a consumer claiming the remains of a type of rodent were found in a 1-kilogram bag of self rising flour.
The KFDA is investigating when the contaminant got into the bag ― during the manufacturing process or after the customer opened the bag.
The flour in question was produced at the Asan factory of Samyang Milmax with the E-Mart brand, best before date Sept. 16, 2010. The number of bags to be recalled is 1,080.
To try and prevent any possibility of a repeat incident, some 95 tons of the same product, manufactured from May 2009 to last month have been temporarily suspended from further sales.
According to the KFDA, the consumer in Osan, Gyeonggi Province, bought a bag of flour in January, and found what appeared to be a 6-centimeter long dead mouse and reported it to the E-Mart store in late April.
The KFDA is investigating the Asan plant, to see if contamination occurred during the manufacturing process.
However, the manufacturer said the flour is produced in an automated process that uses X-ray fluoroscopy, saying any alien substance could not be added during the manufacturing process.
If found responsible, the Samyang Milmax will be banned from manufacturing its product for seven days, while the seller E-Mart will not be able to sell it for the same period.