By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff reporter
The food safety authority vowed sterner punishment for companies failing to prevent rodents, bugs and metal blades from contaminating their packaged foods.
In an announcement to be filed under the "duh!" category, the Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) said the toughened food laws may include a maximum 30-day business suspension for companies that shock customers with "disgusting" foreign substances in their products.
KFDA's definition of disgust includes lifeless animals such as mice and cockroaches and metal blades, which can currently lead to seven-day suspensions for the companies and the discarding of the exposed line of food products.
Less serious blunders, at least under the KFDA's criteria, include the presence of parasites or their eggs, less-sharp metal pieces and glass, which are enough to order the companies to fix and improve their manufacturing facilities. However, the toughened rules will allow the KFDA the power to suspend production.
The administration is also considering ways to prevent food companies from destroying evidence, which obviously has to start with a swifter dispatch of inspectors once the consumer complaint has been made public.
The KFDA's move is a result of a national outcry in recent weeks over a number of odious incidents involving major retailers and food companies.
A woman in Osan, Gyeonggi Province, got the shock of her life last month when she opened a bag of breadcrumbs from E-Mart and found a dead mouse inside.
And Nongshim-Kellogg was ordered to recall over 12,000 boxes of cereal after assembly line pieces, both metal and plastic, were found in three of its brands.
"There is criticism that the punishment for foreign substances in packaged food products has been too lax. We will soon announce a proposal for tougher rules," said a KFDA spokesman.
To motivate companies to strengthen self-regulation, the KFDA will allow food companies to advertise their ratings on food packages should they receive high hygiene ratings from the regular KFDA inspections for up to two years, while exempting them from the inspections for one year.