Jane Han is the North America editor for The Korea Times. Based in Seattle, she has covered business, culture and social issues across the United States for over 15 years. She previously worked at The Boston Globe.
Could China's cabbage scandal hurt kimchi's booming popularity in US?
Jongga kimchi is displayed for sale at a Costco store. Captured from Costco Guide Instagram
By Jane Han
SEATTLE — A food safety scandal involving formaldehyde-treated napa cabbage in China is raising a new question for kimchi’s fast-growing presence in the United States: Could the controversy hurt American consumers’ appetite for the Korean staple?
Chinese authorities recently confirmed that napa cabbages were illegally soaked in a solution containing formaldehyde, a chemical classified as a human carcinogen, to keep them fresh during transportation, prompting an investigation and efforts to trace where the affected produce was distributed.
The case quickly raised concerns about kimchi, whose main ingredient is typically napa cabbage.
South Korea has strengthened inspections of cabbage imported from China and is seeking to determine whether produce linked to the case entered the country. There is currently no evidence that affected cabbage or kimchi has reached the U.S.
Still, the controversy comes as kimchi enjoys unprecedented visibility among American consumers.
Once largely found at Korean restaurants and Asian supermarkets, kimchi has become a mainstream food in the U.S., showing up everywhere from major grocery chains to burgers, tacos and other dishes far removed from traditional Korean cuisine.
News of the scandal has prompted questions about store-bought kimchi. “Are kimchi sold in stores made with that cabbage?” one Instagram user asked in response to a news report about the scandal.
For U.S. shoppers, however, determining where the cabbage in a particular jar of kimchi comes from may not be straightforward.
Jongga kimchi sold at Costco, for example, is labeled as imported directly from Korea. But a Jongga variety sold at Kroger is made in the U.S., with its ingredient list identifying napa cabbage, red pepper powder, garlic and other ingredients without specifying their individual countries of origin.
Other brands can present a similar challenge, with product labels typically identifying ingredients such as napa cabbage without necessarily stating where each was grown.
The U.S. market also includes kimchi manufactured in China. Import records available through trade data platforms show commercial shipments from China containing whole and sliced napa cabbage kimchi entering the country.
There is no indication that those products were connected to the current formaldehyde case.
Even without evidence of affected products reaching the U.S., the scandal could create an image problem for kimchi.
As kimchi reaches a broader U.S. audience, the controversy could draw greater attention to its increasingly global supply chain, including where its cabbage is grown and where the finished product is manufactured.