Ganghwa County Mandates Country-of-Origin Labeling for Delivery Food Starting Today

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Seo Dong-young] Ganghwa County announced that starting today, country-of-origin labeling has become mandatory for delivery foods such as pig's trotters and chicken ordered by phone, in accordance with the amended enforcement rules of the Country-of-Origin Marking Act revised in September last year.

The country-of-origin labeling requirements cover a total of 24 items: ▲three agricultural products including rice (cooked rice, porridge, crispy rice), soybeans (tofu products, soybean pulp, chilled noodles in soy broth), and napa cabbage kimchi (napa cabbage, red chili powder); ▲six livestock products including pork, chicken, duck, and mutton; ▲and 15 aquatic products including flounder, loach, conger eel, mackerel, blue crab, octopus, and pollock.

Food businesses selling delivery meals must display country-of-origin information on packaging. If displaying country-of-origin information on packaging is difficult, alternatives such as flyers, stickers, or receipts are permitted.

Falsely indicating country-of-origin information will result in imprisonment of up to seven years or a fine of up to 100 million won. Failure to display country-of-origin information or violation of display methods will result in an administrative fine of up to 10 million won.

A county official stated, "As the country-of-origin marking system is being strengthened, we will conduct active promotion and inspection guidance to ensure that restaurants and other food establishments do not suffer disadvantages."