Amid controversy after an employee was caught urinating on raw materials at a beer production plant in Tsingtao, China, Professor Seo Gyeong-deok of Sungshin Women’s University raised his voice on the 22nd, saying, “Our government needs to conduct a thorough investigation when importing food from China.”
Professor Seo said on Facebook that day, “There has been a lot of controversy not only about food hygiene management in China, but also about kimchi,” and “safe food is an important issue directly related to the health of the people.”
Previously, on the 19th, a video was posted on Chinese social networking service (SNS) Weibo showing a man wearing a helmet and work clothes at the Qingdao 3 factory in Pingdu, Shandong Province, entering a storage area for malt, a raw material for beer, and allegedly urinating.
In response to this, the factory said, “We reported the relevant information to the public security agency and began an investigation into the truth,” but added, “It is difficult to determine the truth through the video alone due to the poor quality. “These days, video-related technology is excellent,” he said, mentioning the possibility of manipulation.
The Pingdu City Market Supervision Bureau, which has jurisdiction over the factory, said, “We have formed an investigation team and dispatched it to the site, and all raw materials from the factory have been sealed. If the facts are revealed, we will be severely punished in accordance with the law.”
Beer K, the Korean importer of Tsingtao beer, said, “Tsingtao beer is manufactured in a separate factory for domestic consumption and export, and the third factory only produces beer for domestic consumption. Beer distributed domestically is unrelated to the factory.” “It’s one product,” he emphasized.
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety also stated, “Beer manufactured and produced at the relevant factory is not imported into the country,” and “The factory in question is not registered as an overseas manufacturing facility.”
This is not the first food hygiene controversy in China. Last March, at a factory that manufactures som chai, a Chinese pickled vegetable, employees were caught stepping on ingredients with bare feet or smoking cigarettes while handling ingredients and then discarding the butts.
In March 2021, there was a so-called ‘naked kimchi’ incident in which a man pickled cabbage in a water tank while taking off his clothes, and in October of the same year, a woman was seen stepping on a red substance with her bare feet in what is believed to be a seasoning manufacturing factory. This became public and caused controversy.
Kim So-young,
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.