Producers of Toxic Food Face Harsher Penalties

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Producers of Toxic Food Face Harsher Penalties

In the future, importers or manufacturers of contaminated food could be punished with the maximum penalty allowed by the Food Sanitation Law: imprisonment not exceeding five years or a fine of up to 30 million won.

Recent controversies surrounding the imports of lead-contaminated blue crab and the discovery of sulfuric acid in sesame oil have prompted the tightening of punitive legal measures. The government held a countermeasure meeting attended by Ahn Byoung-woo, head of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, related vice ministers, and the chairman of the National Tax Service on August 25. It agreed to increase criminal punishment for the production and sale of hazardous food.

In addition, the customs inspection of imported agricultural and marine products will be made more stringent.

If the lead-contaminated blue crabs are found to have been weighted with lead in China, the government will demand after consultations with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade that China should affix preliminary examination certificates to its agricultural and marine products for export.

by Kim Seok-hyun

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