Gyeonggi Province Conducts Guidance and Inspections on Country of Origin Labeling for Agricultural Products Ahead of Lunar New Year

[Suwon Ilbo=Park No-hun, Reporter] Gyeonggi Province will conduct guidance and inspections on country of origin labeling for ritual food and gift agricultural and livestock products from January 20 to February 3 ahead of the Lunar New Year.

From January 27 to February 1, joint inspections will also be conducted with four cities including Gwangju, Pyeongtaek, Gwacheon, and Bucheon.

Inspection items include products distributed at traditional markets, wholesale and retail outlets, and ready-to-eat food vendors, including ▲ritual foods: beef and pork, codonopsis lanceolata, fiddlehead ferns, dried persimmons, sea bream, etc. ▲gift items: short rib sets, Korean confectioneries, ginseng, anchovy, health foods (red ginseng, herbal medicine ingredients, etc.) ▲rice cakes, seasoned vegetable dishes, pancakes and other ready-to-eat foods ▲all other agricultural and aquatic product country of origin labeling items according to individual city plans.

Inspection items include ▲storage of transaction specifications (livestock products) ▲country of origin labeling of ready-to-eat foods (ritual food finished products) ▲false, misleading, or disguised country of origin labeling and unlabeled agricultural and livestock products.

Online inspections will also be conducted in consideration of social distancing. A total of 129 'Gyeonggi Province Agricultural and Aquatic Product Country of Origin Labeling Monitors' will monitor online marketplaces and delivery applications to verify that country of origin labeling is properly displayed and examine compliance with correct country of origin labeling practices.

According to the 'Act on Indication of Country of Origin for Agricultural and Aquatic Products,' anyone caught falsely labeling the actual country of origin of agricultural, livestock, or aquatic products or their related products, or displaying misleading or disguised country of origin labels, shall be punished with up to seven years imprisonment or a fine of up to 10 million won.

The province and municipal and county governments plan to take criminal charges or impose administrative fines against violators and continue to monitor compliance with country of origin labeling implementation and changes.

Lee Hae-won, Director of Agricultural Product Distribution Division at Gyeonggi Province, urged, "To ensure safe food distribution and establish fair trade order, sellers must comply with country of origin labeling requirements according to regulations. Consumers must also always verify country of origin labels before purchasing products."

Meanwhile, the province emphasized that when labeling imported product country of origin, it should indicate not just a simple label but the specific country, region, or sea area where the agricultural or aquatic product was collected or harvested.

<Example: Banana (Country of Origin: Imported) (X) → Banana (Country of Origin: Philippine) (O)>

The province also explained that consumers can make more informed purchases if they know how to distinguish country of origin by product type.

Instructions on how to distinguish country of origin by product type can be found on the websites of the National Institute of Agricultural Products Quality Management and the National Institute of Fishery Products Quality Management.