Some Korean cookies, which were exported overseas and also sold on the local market, contained high levels of a poisonous byproduct believed to cause cancer, Rep. Ahn Myeong-ok of the Grand National Party said, Monday.
A Korean snack, ``glutinous rice with peanuts'' was scrapped in Japan as it contained over 10 ppb of carcinogenic aflatoxins. Produced by many species of Aspergillus, a fungus, even a small amount could cause cancer.
The snacks are also being sold locally. ``Korean food authorities disregarded its people by not announcing these facts. They should have tested food products that were rejected by other countries,'' Rep. Ahn said.
According to the Korea Food and Drug Administration, Korean foods violated food safety regulation overseas 11 times. China rejected nine Korean food items and Japan and the EU each banned foods from Korea once.
Also, cookies exported to China contained contaminants that were 34 to 52-fold the permissible level. In addition to cookies, kimchi and red pepper, which were exported to China, were found to have parasite eggs and Korean seaweed was also rejected due to excessive bacteria.