South Korean regulators found 14 food safety violations after inspecting 37,500 school cafeterias and food businesses near schools, with expired products the most common problem.
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said on the 15th that it conducted the inspections from Aug. 24 to Sept. 11, timed to the start of the fall semester, together with education offices and local governments. Six of the violators were tied to school meal services and eight were businesses near schools. The ministry asked the relevant local governments to impose administrative penalties on them.
The inspections covered two categories. One included 5,952 school and kindergarten meal facilities and ingredient suppliers. The other covered 31,548 businesses that prepare or sell children's favorite foods within child food safety protection zones around schools.
Nine of the violations involved keeping food past its use-by date. Three were cases of lax hygiene management, such as unsanitary kitchens or staff not wearing hygiene caps and masks. Violations of facility standards, retained-sample requirements, storage temperatures and operator obligations each turned up at least once. One cafeteria had stored leftover food to reuse it. Cafeterias are required to keep one serving from every meal at minus 18 degrees Celsius or below for more than 144 hours so that the cause can be traced if food poisoning occurs.
Separately from the on-site inspections, authorities collected and tested 1,609 food items and found two that failed to meet standards: one finished product that exceeded bacterial count limits and one agricultural product with a pesticide residue problem. The responsible authorities carried out administrative measures and disposal procedures.
The ministry had initially said about 33,000 sites would be covered, but the actual scope of the inspections was larger. The violation rate came to 0.04%. In the spring semester of 2024, 27 of 45,150 sites were cited, a rate of 0.06%. Direct comparisons are limited because the timing and composition of the inspections differed.
The cafeterias and related businesses found in violation will be reinspected within six months. Businesses selling children's favorite foods near schools are monitored on an ongoing basis by 2,533 dedicated inspectors. In July, the ministry also inspected 219 meal-related facilities considered vulnerable on hygiene grounds and cited seven of them.