South Korea to beef up food safety

South Korea plans to establish 'food profiling' and a database of harmful elements in order to boost food safety.

All poultry meat in South Korea will be sold in packs starting 2010, which is one of a series of measures aiming to boost food safety. Coastal areas will also be classified according to pollution level, and fish and other marine products will be designated accordingly.

Food profiling will be implemented to set safety standards for 500 foods and dishes, and those not passing the standards will not be allowed for sales.

The standards cover bacteria and other harmful elements. Those that are found to contain more harmful elements than allowed will be taken off the market with the manufacturers subject to intensive investigations.

Under the plan, a database of harmful materials will be established, including their effects by amount on the human body. This data will be applied to determine whether a product may stay on market or should be removed.

There will be greater scrutiny on imported foods, which account for 70 percent of consumption. A state-private food inspector will be set up in China, the main source of imported foods, and more inspections will be recommended for slaughterhouses that process imported meat.

For 10 large domestic slaughterhouses, it will be mandatory to install a system to eliminate specific risk materials (SRMs) that have the highest BSE-infection risk.