By Lee Hyo-sik
A larva was allegedly found in a popular ginseng product manufactured by Korea Ginseng Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary of KT&G. It is yet undetermined whether the foreign substance was included during the manufacturing process, according to the Korea Food & Drug Administration (KFDA) Tuesday.
The company has cautiously raised the possibility that a consumer who discovered the caterpillar might have intentionally put it into the product to get a payoff.
On Sept. 19, a consumer residing in the Yeonsu district of Incheon, reported to the ginseng product maker that a larva was found in ``Whalgidan Royal,’’ from the brand Cheong Kwan Jang.
The consumer said he bought the problematic item from a nearby store in March. Whalgidan Royal contains pellets made of ginseng concentration, vitamins and health-boosting vegetable properties.
The company immediately notified KFDA of the finding and asked the agency to inspect the product in question. The state food safety inspection body then asked the Yeonsu District Office to retrieve and examine the product.
``The ginseng product maker told us that a consumer in Incheon found a foreign object in one of its products. The company asked us to check the product. Since the item was sold in Yeonsu district, we asked the district office to collect and look into it,’’ said a KFDA spokesman, who declined to be named.
The spokesman said the district office confirmed the existence of a larva that is about 0.5 centimeters in length in the ginseng product. But he said it is too early to say whether the foreign substance got into the product during the manufacturing process or not.
“We will be able to find out exactly what it was and how it got into the ginseng product only after an inspection is completed.’’
Korea Ginseng Corp. said it is waiting to hear inspection results from KFDA, stressing that it is unlikely that the alien substance was included during manufacturing.
``We received a call from a consumer who claimed that the larva was found in one of our products. He asked for 4 million won ($3,300) in compensation. The consumer said he will not hand over the product to us unless we meet his demand,’’ a company spokesman said.
He said the company asked KFDA to collect the product and examine it thoroughly.
``We refused to provide the money because we do not want to set a bad precedent. There have been many cases in which consumers intentionally put foreign objects into products to blackmail manufacturers. When we know exactly what happened, we will come out with a range of well-thought-out measures to respond,’’ the spokesman said.