January 13, 2005

 

 

South Korea To Use Beef-Tracking System

 

Starting April 1, South Korea plans to launch a trial service of an electronic tagging system allowing consumers to verify the origin of beef and dispel concerns over mad cow disease, an information ministry official said Thursday.

 

Under the system, all imported beef will be tagged with electronic labels with radio frequency identification (RFID) chips.

 

The RFID chips can show local consumers information on the origin of the beef and method of delivery into the country, a source revealed.

 

The ministry and related government agencies such as the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and the National Veterinary and Quarantine Service are now putting the final touches on preparations for the test-run, the official said.

 

South Koreans have shown concern about this disease when in December 2003, a cow in the United States tested positive for the brain-wasting illness, formally known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).

 

South Korea has since banned the import of U.S. beef.

 

Consumption of infected beef can cause the fatal Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

 

In 2003, South Korea imported 293,653 tons of beef. Of this total, 68 per cent or 199,443 tons came from the United States, according to the Agriculture Ministry data.

 

Adopting the RFID technology is part of the government's efforts to find a new "growth engine" in the information-technology sector.

 

For this year, the Information Ministry plans to spend 17 billion won (US$16.4 million) to develop the RFID tags and system. The budget is 2.4 times higher than that of last year, the ministry said Wednesday.

 

The ministry officials said they are considering expanding the application of RFID technology to domestic beef in a move to block the sale of fake Korean beef.

 

Korean beef, produced from the domestic breed of cattle known as Hanwoo, normally sells for twice the price of imported beef.

 

Last December, French retailer Carrefour's South Korean subsidiary was let off with a warning by the state-run Korea Consumer Protection Board after attempting to sell fake Korean beef at its three discount stores.