Gov`t Tightens Quarantine Inspection Rules

Tag : beef extract
The government will strengthen biopsies on samples of U.S. beefcuts including tongue and intestines by coming up with detailedinspection standards on specified risk materials (SRMs).
The government has also expanded country of origin labeling rulesto include childcare facilities, such as daycare centers andkindergartens, and small-sized restaurants serving less than 50customers.
Beginning next month, all restaurants, food delivery services, andcatering services must inform their customers of the country oforigin of all dishes that contain beef, including broth and sidedishes.
The Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries announcedTuesday the new quarantine inspection rules and the country oforigin regulations as follow-up measures for the additionalnegotiations on the resumption of U.S. beef imports.
According to new inspection guidelines regarding intestines,inspectors will extract five samples from a 120-centimeter-longintestine at an interval of 30 centimeters and inspect them withmicroscopes. If lymph nodes, called Peyer`s patch, are found inmore than four samples, the government will conclude that U.S.exporters failed to completely remove the distal ileum, which islocated at the end of the small intestine and one of the SRMs, fromthe small intestine and return the entire batch containing thematerials to the United States.
Under the new origin of labeling rules, all eateries must notifycustomers of the origins of the beef, pork, and chicken they serve.The government will implement the new labeling law in July for beefand in December for pork and chicken. The Agricultural Ministry hasalso strengthened punishment for violators.
If a restaurant is found to mislabel the origin, its owners will besentenced to up to three years in prison and be given a fine of upto 30 million won. And, those who do not label the origin or failto follow the labeling method will be imposed a fine of up to 10million won and have their operations suspended for a maximum ofone month.
The ministry has also tightened quarantine inspection guidelines.When cattles tongue and intestines, located near SRMs, areimported, quarantine officials will conduct biopsies and inspectthem after thawing the parts.
As for bone-in steak cuts, officials will look into whether thebeef boxes have a less than 30 months label, along with checkingexport quarantine certificates that confirm the beef was processedaccording to the quality system assessment (QSA) program. If thereare no such labels, the government will send back the shipments tothe United States.
On the public notification of the new sanitary and phytosanitary(SPS) standards, Agriculture Minister Chung Woon-chun said, We didour utmost to assure the public. Now the government has exhaustedall other means possible, we can no longer delay the notification.
The government and the ruling Grand National Party will hold ameeting on Wednesday morning and fix the date for the promulgationof the new SPS standards.