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The Korean Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday identified two more snacks that it says are tainted with melamine, adding to a growing basket of contaminated Chinese-made foods. Nabisco¡¯s Ritz Sandwich Cracker imported by Dongsuh and Tasty Rice Crackers made by Danyang Day Bright Foods and imported by Hwatong and Babanggeu contain high levels of melamine, the KFDA said.
That brings the number of products identified as containing melamine from four to six; the first culprit discovered last Wednesday was Haitai¡¯s Misarang Custard. Inspections have been completed on only one-third of the 428 food products slated for screening.
We are self-reliant for only 27 percent of our food and must rely on imported commodities to prepare the food that goes on our tables. China charges cheap freight fees, while climactic and other conditions there are similar to Korea¡¯s. This has led to Chinese goods dominating the ingredients that go into our food. Chinese goods accounted for 26.6 percent or 3.14 million tons out of 11.79 million tons of agricultural produce and processed foods that were imported into Korea last year. They account for an even bigger proportion of agricultural imports: 88 percent of balloon flowers, 73.6 percent of red beans, 67.5 percent of bracken and 49 percent of sesame seeds sold in Korea. We cannot last a day without imported Chinese food products.
From the cookies and sweets children buy in front of their schools to the soup and side dishes we consume in restaurants, everything is Chinese-made. Thanks to Chinese imports, we can enjoy a lunch for just W5,000 (US$1=W1,207), but we cannot shake off our fear of the safety of such products. Chinese food products accounted for the largest proportion of items that failed safety tests on imported products last year, a total of 588.
If we cannot avoid using Chinese imports to cook our meals, we must shift our focus to ensuring we import only safe food products from China. We need to unify the food inspection functions presently divided between the KFDA and the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries to prevent confusion and the shirking of responsibilities. The KFDA began inspecting powdered milk and products containing melamine a full 10 days after China announced the discovery of it in baby milk. This delay happened because of the unreasonable division of duty where powdered milk falls under the jurisdiction of the Agriculture Ministry but dairy products under the jurisdiction of the KFDA.
When food products are imported, only 15 percent undergo thorough examinations; the rest just undergo cursory probes or simply get approved on paper. It is difficult to sort through all imported food products, so the government must expand the number of imported products that undergo random inspections. There is no way for consumers to determine the existence of harmful substances in processed food. Food manufacturers must have a greater sense of responsibility, and consumers must realize that there has to be some degree of increase in prices if we are to ensure that our food is safe.
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