By Lee Hyo-sik
Concerns are growing over the safety of imported goods, particularly those from China, after cancer-causing substances were detected in wooden chopsticks, kitchen utensils and other household items manufactured overseas.
Some experts blame the country’s quarantine inspection system for the surge of imports of unsafe products.
They are urging the government to boost the monitoring of consumer goods brought into the country. They say quarantine inspectors need to conduct more unscheduled checks and examine as much merchandise as possible.
Normally, the quarantine authorities here are required to closely inspect foreign products when shipments first arrive.
But if they are steered clear of an initial examination, the goods usually enter the country after only a document check, as it is physically impossible for inspectors to go over hundreds of thousands of items one by one.
Many Chinese firms and Korean importers have been using this to ship high-quality and safe products to Korea to skip the stringent initial inspection, and then bringing in lower quality and harmful goods.
According to the Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA), wooden chopsticks, dishware and other consumer goods found to contain carcinogens and other harmful substances this year were all imported from China.
``Domestic firms imported a wide range of foods and dishware last year, worth $13 billion,’’ a KFDA official. ``Of them, only 26 percent underwent a thorough quarantine inspection. On top of document screening, inspectors conduct a random check on 5 percent of all imported Chinese goods to prevent harmful consumer products from reaching local households.’’
The official said Korea should deploy more quarantine inspectors and carry out more random inspections on imported goods, particularly those from China. He also said Korean inspectors should be allowed onsite inspections at the source.
For instance, if a Chinese chopsticks maker wants to export its products to Korea, Korean quarantine examiners should be able to go to its plant and check the quality where they are produced.
This year, the U.S. FDA started sending inspectors to foreign producers that export a variety of goods to the United States. It plans to check over 600 manufacturers in 2012 and will double the number of factories subject to inspections each year over the next five years.