Korean Fast Food to be Inspected for Carcinogens

With the discovery of “Sudan 1”, a kind of carcinogen, in a fast food chain in China, a full-scale inspection will be conducted of fast food outlets in Korea.

The Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) announced on March 21 that the administration will examine the components of the sauces used by fast food chains, and the cayenne pepper oil and paste for Sudan 1 food colorings. This inspection will be done not only on the makers of imported goods, but it will also include domestic producers.

Prior to this, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) China has stopped its sales of New Orleans chicken wings and burgers, which include the Sudan 1 food coloring, starting March 16.

The head of the Food Safety Division, Lim Gi-sup, at the KFDA said, “Though there is no record of importing Sudan 1 into the country, we are planning to carry out the inspections on the products to make certain of their safety.”

However, the KFDA said, “The ingredients of a specific sauce produced within a fast food company is a self-reported item,” and that “with the exception of special cases, a separate product inspection will not be done other than checking the documents for confirmation.”

Last month, when Sudan 1 was found in a British Worcestershire sauce product, the KFDA merely confirmed that there was no record of importing the product.

A KFC Korea official said in regards to this issue that “Domestic food coloring is used for the food sold in Korea, as opposed to the problematic coloring discovered in China.”

TK Sohn sohn@donga.com