June 26, 2009

South Korea will begin to start its yearly inspection of fish farms and seafood factories in China later this month to check whether they abide by hygiene requirements, officials here said Thursday.

The Korean Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said the examination is in line with a bilateral agreement on fisheries hygiene and safety that was signed in 2001 shortly after imported Chinese blue crabs were found to contain lead.

The inspection team will check 21 fish farms and seafood factories in the eastern and northern regions of China from June 29-July 3 to inspect their hygiene standards, according to the ministry.

Concern over Chinese fisheries products has been escalating over the last decade. In 2005, eels imported from China were found to be tainted with a cancer-causing chemical, malachite green, triggering a food scare in South Korea.

China is the largest exporter of seafood to South Korea. Last year, South Korea imported 33.5 percent of its fisheries needs from China, including yellow corvinas, hairtails and octopuses.

So far, 53 Chinese fish farms and seafood factories have been banned from shipping products to South Korea for failing to meet safety standards, representing about 3 percent of China's exporters.