#701, Seoul YWCA, 1-1, Myeongdong 1-ga, Jung-gu, Seoul  (Postal code: 100-021)

    

Press Release Provided: 2009. 4.1 Tel: 774-4050 / FAX:774-4090 Person in Charge: Lee Jeong-su, General Affairs Manager Organizer: Kim Ba-ro   Consultation on Safety & Hygiene Rose by 44.1% Compared to Last Year Consultation on Harmful Food Takes 53.0% Most of the Consultations are on Alien Substances   In the year 2008, consultation offices at over 180 consumer organizations have received a total of 443,042 consultation requests. 78,768 of the consultations were on clothing and laundry, while there were 5,949 group disputes. Excluding these, there were 358,325 cases of consumer consultation that consumer organizations processed in general. It’s 1.0% higher (+3,642 cases) than last year with 354,683 cases.   “Number of Consultations on Restaurants and Dining Facilities Jumped 340.0% Compared to 2007. Consultations on Poor Hygiene Accounted for More than Half.” The area of consultation that rose the highest compared to last year was restaurant-dining facilities (Food excluded. Separate item) and there were 132 cases of consultation in 2008, which is 340% more than 2007 with just 30 cases. Among them, poor hygiene accounted for 56.8% with 75 cases. The consultations included consumer reports on chili pepper still remaining on side dishes after washing, kitchen staff putting kimchi in a bowl with bare hands without using gloves, and cockroaches inside the restaurant. It is determined that effective education programs needed to implement more aggressive hygiene monitoring activities and more strict hygiene control standards, while also promoting a sense of hygiene among restaurant owners in order to prevent such cases and improve restaurant hygiene. There were also 38 cases of burn and collision injuries caused by restaurant facilities as well as 38 cases of product damages on clothing. Victims in 20 of the 38 cases were teenagers or younger. Most of children’s accidents were caused by their colliding into facilities or people while running around without parental care, while some children were injured after their hands were caught in or bumping into play equipment such as slide while playing in a playground prepared by the restaurant. Safety regulations on children’s play fields such as play facilities, childcare center, and playground prepared by large restaurants were enacted in January 2008 to prevent such safety hazards. However, there is a four-year grace period on current facilities, making it difficult to apply the laws. The survey also showed that parents or guardians must be careful when accompanying a child.  “Consultation on Safety and Hygiene Rose by 44.1% Compared with Last Year, and Food Related Consultations Accounted for More Than Half.” There were 13,617 reports on safety and hygiene accepted by consumer organizations in 2008, which is 44.1% higher than the 9,449 cases in 2007. Among them, there were 7,212 food related reports, which is 72.1% higher than the 4,190 cases in 2007. Safety and hygiene related reports account for more than half of all the reports. Since the report of something that appears to be a rat’s head found in a tuna can in March 2008, cases of foreign materials in tuna cans such as pieces of blade didn’t decrease. It is determined that it’s largely due to a series of food safety problems such as mad cow and melanin crises. In particular, two out of three cases were on harmful food (5,257 cases, 64.5%) among reports on cookies, dairy products, drinks, tea, and other processed food items (8,099 cases), 3,212 (61.1%) of which were reports of insects, mold, metal pieces, and plastic. There were also 689 reports and consultations (13.1%) on expired products or food items without an expiration date, 653 (12.4%) cases on food poisoning, enteritis, allergy, and other side effects, 511 (9.7%) reports of food items that went bad, and 192 cases of safety hazards, melanin, heavy metal, and other safety and hygiene related consultations. As a result of studying 260 cases of side effects caused by food items with an expiration date, 210 people (80.7%) checked the expiration date after consuming and having side effects, and 156 cases (74.2%) were caused by consuming the food after the expiration date. Food items can go bad so it’s necessary to check the expiration date before purchasing or consuming them. Also, they can go bad even before the expiration date according to the distribution process or storage methods, so proper storage of food items that are not consumed right away can help prevent food accidents. Containing foreign materials accounted for the largest share of processed food safety and hygiene related accidents, with 741 cases (23.1%) of insects, 396 cases (12.3%) of mold, 201 cases (6.3%) of metal items, 125 cases (3.9%) of plastic, 117 cases of hair (3.6%), 81 cases (2.5%) of vinyl, and 53 cases (1.7%) of stone pieces as well as fly, glass, thread, ant, bone piece, rubber, paper, wood, cigarette butt, string, and nail. To prevent foreign materials from getting mixed with food, businesses should analyze the cause of having foreign materials in food items in the manufacturing and distribution process in order to supplement production facilities or develop methods to prevent foreign materials from getting mixed with food. The government should also develop an education/training program and provide technological support and financial assistance for facility repair and improvement. Consumers must keep the food items with foreign materials and take photos of it for objective confirmation, and make sure to receive a receipt from the administration office or business after submitting a request for an analysis so that they have some kind of evidence when the decision to whether or not solve the problem is made. Statistics by Item Among Consumer Reports in 2008 Category 2008 Compared with Last Year     Cases Ratio by Category No. of Consultations Increase Rate Increased by Item Food Items 23,798 14.51% 22,365 6.41% 1,433 Home Appliances 38,981 23.76% 37,316 4.46% 1,665 Household Materials 72,717 44.32% 72,283 0.60% 434 Cultural Items 27,822 16.96% 26,486 5.04% 1,336 Items Related to Business 724 0.44% 739 -2.03% -15 Other Items 22 0.01% 63 -65.08% -41 Subtotal 164,064 45.79% 159,252 3.02% 4,812 Servcie Housekeeping, Living 15,352 8.60% 7,522 104.09% 7,830 Finance Insurance 12,170 6.82% 12,839 -5.21% -669 Information & Communication 43,844 24.57% 46,619 -5.95% -2,775 Transportation 16,125 9.04% 14,187 13.66% 1,938 Welfare Training 10,425 5.84% 14,626 -28.72% -4,201 Leisure Culture 28,138 15.77% 26,150 7.60% 1,988 Medical & Public Health 11,832 6.63% 11,024 7.33% 808 Housing 12,840 7.19% 14,021 -8.42% -1,181 Clothing 24,070 13.49% 27,472 -12.38% -3,402 Other Services 3,664 2.05% 6,273 -41.59% -2,609 Subtotal 178,460 49.80% 180,733 -1.26% -2,273 Public Administration Public Organization 619 24.52% 817 -24.24% -198 Public Resources 1,673 66.28% 2,227 -24.88% -554 Other Public Services 232 9.19% 782 -70.33% -550 Subtotal 2,524 0.70% 3,826 -34.03% -1,302 Accidents & Others Safety Hazards 479 3.61% 405 18.27% 74 Traffic Accidents 308 2.32% 368 -16.30% -60 Environmental Damage 209 1.57% 237 -11.81% -28 Other 3,468 26.12% 2,294 51.18% 1,174 Commercial Trade 8,813 66.38% 7,568 16.45% 1,245 Subtotal 13,277 3.71% 10,872 22.12% 2,405 Total of General Consumer Consultations 358,325 354,683 1.03% 3,642   Deliberations on Clothing and Laundry 78,768 70,558 11.64% 8,210 Consultations on Group Dispute 5,949 - - - Total 443,042 425,241 4.18% 17,801                                                   Member Organizations Green Consumer Network in Korea, National YWCA of Korea, Korean Federation of Housewives Clubs, Citizens Association for Studying Consumer Problems, National Council of Homemakers’ Classes, Korean Consumer Affairs Institute, Korea