Experts “Chinese’bare’ cabbage is unlikely to be imported in Korea”

Input 2021.03.19 10:54

Recently, amid controversy over the image of unsanitary Chinese cabbage production in China, an analysis was found among domestic experts that the direct relationship between the kimchi in the video and the kimchi consumed in Korea was low.

On the 19th, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety held an expert advisory meeting on the safety inspection of imported pickled cabbage and kimchi at the Seoul Regional Office the day before.

The beginning is a video of the production process of pickled cabbage in China, which has recently been controversial in Korea. In the video in question, a pit is dug, plastic is covered, and then cabbage is pickled with salt. In addition, there were scenes where a man who was carrying cabbage with a crane or an undressed man went into a pit to work.

Experts who attended the meeting analyzed that the direct relationship between kimchi currently consumed in Korea and cabbage in the video appears to be low.

Professor Sung-hyuk Lee of Daegu University explained, “Once pickled cabbages that have a different color and off-flavor can be blocked by a sensory test at the customs stage. The sensory test is a method in which a person directly evaluates the property, condition, taste, and color of a product. According to Professor Lim, a detailed examination to check the physical, chemical, and microbiological conditions of contamination is also conducted and managed.

Kim Dong-ju, head of the Daegu Branch of the Korea Food Safety Management Certification Agency, analyzed that “the pickling process of cabbage kimchi exported to Korea (from China) is all done indoors,” and analyzed that the possibility of importing the kimchi in question to Korea is small. Seo Hye-young, a senior researcher at the World Kimchi Research Institute, also said, “The pickling method shown in the video is not suitable to be used as an ingredient for making cabbage kimchi that we normally eat, such as changing the color of the cabbage and fading the tissue.”

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said, “We will continue to reflect the opinions of experts with various expertise and experience so that consumers can purchase imported food with confidence in the future to implement the imported food safety policy.”