41 tons of tainted Chinese foods discarded since 2006: report

SEOUL, Sept. 21 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's food safety agency said Sunday that since 2006 it has recalled and discarded around 41 tons of Chinese food imports which were found to contain bacteria, cancer-causing materials and other substances banned in food.

According to the Korea Food & Drug Administration (KFDA), cookies imported from
China last December were found to be tainted with cyclamate, a cancer-causing
material, and cakes imported in October of last year were also found to contain
substances banned in food.
This year, the administration recalled four different brands of Chinese
confectionery products weighing 13 tons after a dangerously high level of
toluene, a toxic chemical used to dissolve packaging ink, was discovered in the
products.
"The government has to drastically reinforce its safety checks on Chinese food
imports in both customs and circulation," Rep. Lim Doo-sung of the ruling Grand
National Party said, while releasing the KFDA report to the local media.
The report came after thousands of Chinese babies have fallen ill and at least
three have died after drinking milk formula tainted with melamine, a substance
banned in food, in the latest food safety scandal to hit the world's most
populous country.
The melamine scandal has reignited a phobia of Chinese foods among South Korean
consumers.
sam@yna.co.kr
(END)