SEOUL, South Korea – Fifty-five fast food restaurants across South Korea, known for selling popular items like tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes), hamburgers, and hot dogs, have been found in violation of the Food Sanitation Act during a recent government inspection. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) conducted the inspection from February 10 to 14, in collaboration with 17 local governments, covering a total of 4,474 establishments nationwide.
The violations uncovered include:
Failure to conduct employee health checkups (32 locations)
Breaches of operator compliance standards (7 locations)
Facility standard violations (7 locations)
Breaches of sanitary handling standards (6 locations)
Violations of food standards and specifications (3 locations)
The MFDS has requested local authorities to impose administrative penalties on the offending restaurants. Notably, some branches of well-known franchises such as Gobongmin Gimbap In, No Brand Burger, Dookki Tteokbokki, Mom's Touch, Myungrang Hot Dog, Baeddeok, Sinjeon Tteokbokki, Youth Dabang, and Frank Burger were among those cited.
Despite the violations, laboratory tests on 239 food samples collected from these restaurants, including tteokbokki, hamburgers, and hot dogs, showed that all items met the required standards. Local authorities will conduct follow-up inspections within six months to ensure that the restaurants have implemented the necessary improvements.
An MFDS official stated, "We will continue to strengthen safety management to create a safe food environment without any sanitary blind spots."
The public is encouraged to report any instances of unsanitary food preparation or suspected food defects by calling 1339 or using the "My Hand" application.
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