Mouse Found in Veggie Package Confirmed as American

The Korea Food and Drug Administration said yesterday that a dead mouse found in a package of U.S. frozen vegetables in March was from the United States.

The food watchdog said a genetic analysis of the rodent-like creature found in a package imported by Costco confirmed that the genes were identical to those of a wild mouse in the U.S. state of Washington.

The mouse has never been found in Korea, but is known to inhabit five U.S. states.

Under these circumstances, the administration said it is highly likely that the rodent’s parts were mixed with the frozen vegetables during the production process.

Authorities will inform the American producer of the vegetables, Columbia Foods, and the Korean importer on their investigation outcome.

Costco has suspended imports from Columbia, while the food watchdog will perform five inspections on all imports from the American company.

nuk@donga.com