By Lee Kyung-min
Two egg farms in North Gyeongsang Province that were found to have eggs contaminated with the pesticide DDT also turned out to have the harmful substance in the soil, the government said Tuesday. It was not found in the water, fodder or other plants nearby.
Criticism is yet again mounting against safety authorities over their inadequate safety guidelines on the permissible amount of harmful substances farms can have, including DDT. The eggs found there were all recalled and destroyed, according to the Ministry of Drug and Food Safety.
The Rural Development Administration said its on-site inspection found the two farms in Gyeongsan and Yeongcheon had 0.163mg/kg of DDT in areas within 100 ｍeters from them. Areas farther had between 0.046 and 0.539mg/kg.
The ministry said the amount found is six times that of what has been reported in the country using standards on persistent organic pollutants thus far, but is less than the legal limit in Canada which is 0.7 mg/kg.
The Ministry of Environment said it launched an on-site inspection into the two farms to see if the soil and water there were contaminated with insecticides.
The ministry will look into whether they contain more than permissible levels of harmful substances or that which is banned. The findings will be disclosed in October at the latest.
This came shortly after the country underwent massive egg-phobia after pesticide-tainted eggs were found in farms nationwide, including government-approved “organic” ones.
The government said it will strengthen regulations and enforcement of existing ones to have farmers code every egg to track the distribution process to help ensure consumers know where they came from. Farmers that distribute eggs themselves will be also subject to the regulation.