|
|
|
Division
of Investment and Export
PO Box 7970
Madison, WI 53707-7970
USA
|
|
Subscribe
Send
to a Colleague
Feedback
View
Past Editions
|
Vol.
7 #5, May 2008
South Korea to Enforce Country of Origin Labeling for Beef
South Korea will take steps against the labeling of beef with a false
country of origin and provide support to enhance production of local
high-quality meat. In the move announced after Seoul agreed to
re-open its market fully to U.S. beef, the government said it will
increase the number of enforcement monitors from 400 to 1,000 and
conduct detailed monitoring of all meat stores and restaurants with
floor space of 300 square meters. It added that eateries with floor
space of over 100 square meters are to be checked starting in June.
On April 18th the Korean government announced that it had agreed to new
import sanitation rules that give unfettered access to most cuts of
U.S. beef, including bone-in beef and byproducts, from around mid-May.
This sparked concerns over public health and criticism from farmers who
cannot compete effectively with cheap meat from the United States.
"At present, regional governments and the Korea Food and Drug
Administration only check for food safety and not country of origin,
but this will change under the new rules," said Vice Agriculture
Minister Park Deok-bae. He said the National Agricultural Products
Quality Management Service will be exclusively tasked with checking
labeling violations and taking administrative actions.
Source: US Animal Health Assoc. and USDA-FAS
|
|
|
|
