Six types of fishery products must carry labels specifying their places of origin from February next year, the Ministry of Public Administration and Security said on Tuesday as it steps up efforts to minimize the threat of contamination following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster in Japan in March.
Flatfish, rockfish, red sea bream, octopus, eel and mudfish products will not be authorized for sale in Korean supermarkets without the new labels, according to the plan. This is part of the ministry’s initiative to improve oversight of daily necessities and protect consumers.
At present only beef, pork, chicken, duck, rice and kimchi have been subject to the mandatory labeling regulation, which stipulates that a product’s packaging must contain information regarding its place of origin.
The new measure is being introduced amid concerns that leaked nuclear material from Japan could be seeping into aquatic products. It will first be applied to seafood products where the point of origin is often vague or misleading, then gradually expanded to encompass a broader range of fishery products.
The enforcement decree will be amended in August, and the new law will be implemented after a trial period.
