In what threatens to be a repeat of the , South Korea and China are employing tit-for-tat sanctions on food products.
BEIJING, Nov. 1 (Xinhuanet) — The State Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (SAQSIQ) has announced 10 kinds of food products made by certain factories in the Republic of Korea (ROK) are barred from entering the country.
The prohibited food products include several ROK brands of pickles, barbecue sauce and chili sauce, according to the administration on Monday.
China stopped the import of these food products from the ROK because parasite eggs were found in the products, it said.
The administration asked local quality inspection departments to enhance supervision over pickles, barbecue sauce and chili sauce made in the ROK, and to destroy those unqualified ROK food products that have entered China
This follows a report last week from the Korea Times.:
Health officials have again discovered parasite eggs in some Chinese-made kimchi products, escalating public concerns about the health risks of food imports.
The Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) said Thursday that it has found parasite eggs in 15 samples of 82 Chinese kimchi products stored in warehouses.
Kimchi is a spicy fermented cabbage and radish that is the main side dish of most Korean meals.
Quarantine officials have conducted inspections on a total of 82 Chinese kimchi products (227.6 tons) stored in warehouses after customs clearance since the food regulator found three species of parasite eggs in nine samples of the 18 Chinese kimchi products sold in Internet shopping malls last Friday.
AsiaPundit is thankful that the spat has so far been limited to Kimchi and pickles. In the last food-related incident, China barred microchips, mobile phones and petroochemical products in retaliation over Korean garlic quotas.
Still, if the reported parasite eggs are legitimate - and not just veiled protectionism - I do have concerns about the quality of all the kimchi ingested since my arrival. I’m hoping that my preferred method of preparation, boiling the kimchi along with ramyeon noodles, has prevented any ill effects.
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