Gov't watchdog busts 4,500 foodstuffs for falsifying country of origin

About 4,500 foodstuffs have been found with false country of origin markings. Yonhap

South Korea's agricultural watchdog said Tuesday it has found 4,500 foodstuffs with false country of origin markings.

The National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service said it carried out probes into 280,000 establishments last year, finding violations in 3,917 locations. The combined number of products with false origin details came to 4,514, down 4.3 percent from the previous year.

The agency said kimchi and pork each accounted for 24 percent of the products detected.

Beans followed at 11 percent, trailed by beef and chicken with 10 percent and 3 percent, respectively.

Restaurants accounted for 58 percent of the establishments that violated country of origin rules, followed by processing companies and butcher shops with 10 percent each.

The agency said it has taken legal action against 2,453 businesses for fabrication and imposed fines on 1,464 establishments for not properly following place of origin guidelines. (Yonhap)