South Korea to tighten fisheries import inspections

South Korea will tighten safety inspections on all fisheries imports starting in 2010 to better protect the country from substandard products, the government said Thursday.

The National Fisheries Products Quality Inspection Service said under the revised guidelines that the proportion of products subject to detailed examinations will increase to 30 percent of all shipments brought into the country from 28 percent at present.

The number of antibiotics that will be screened for excessive use are to be increased from 32 to 44, with the government to conduct swift "special inspections" if harmful materials are discovered in goods.

Special inspections involve officials checking all or up to half of an individual import shipment for such chemicals as malachite green, endosulfan and hormone materials.

The agency under the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said that in addition to checking products at international ports and airports, it will conduct on-site inspections in such countries as China, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia to determine sanitary and food processing standards of exporters.