Bacteria found in popular restaurants
By Isaac Kim
Some restaurants serving naengmyeon and gimbap had colon bacillus, a food poisoning bacteria.
Colon bacillus was detected in naengmyeon (cold noodles) and gimbap (rice and condiments wrapped in seaweed) sold in famous franchises.
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) collected 2,038 food products such as naengmyeon and cold-bean soup noodles from 1,599 restaurants around the country and found 59 places where either colon bacillus or food poisoning bacteria were found, they revealed on July 18.
The MFDS tested 775 naengmyeon and cold-bean noodles, 822 gimbap and sushi, 85 lunch packs, 295 bingsu (shaved ice with syrup) and salads, and 61 packs of ice. They found food poisoning bacteria and colon bacillus in 47 samples of naengmyeon and cold-bean soup noodles and 12 samples of gimbap.
Famous restaurants in Seoul and Korail Retail products, which were included in the study, were also discovered to have unsanitary bacteria. The MFDS requested local governments to suspend and take administrative action against restaurants that have violated the health standards.
The list of the 59 restaurants can be found at the following MFDS site: www.mfds.go.kr