For food safety

By Park Yoon-bae

A recent case of instant noodles containing a cancer-causing substance indicates that the nation still has a long way to go before ensuring food safety.

The case took place in late October when the Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) ordered Nongshim, the nation’s largest ramen maker, to recall its six products found to be tainted with the carcinogen benzopyrene.

The recall represented a sudden change of the regulator’s constant position that the amounts of benzopyrene detected in the noodle products were within the safe level.

Why did the KFDA change its stance abruptly? It did after its Commissioner Lee Hee-sung was grilled over the issue by lawmakers during the parliamentary inspection of the food regulatory body on Oct. 24.

A day earlier, Rep. Lee Un-ju of the main opposition Democratic United Party (DUP) disclosed that benzopyrene was detected in Nongshim’s ramen. But the KFDA issued a press release immediately stating that the level of the carcinogen poses no threat to human health.

It can be easily inferred that Lee undid the press release after he was cornered by several opposition lawmakers who recklessly blamed the KFDA for doing nothing with the tainted products. It was apparent that the legislators went too far in the “blame game” only to raise public concerns about food safety.

In a nutshell, Lee just ordered the recall of the ramen products, playing into the hands of the lawmakers who undoubtedly intended to make a fuss out of nothing just for political gains.

Lee deserves criticism for a lack of consistency and coherence in tackling the ramen problem and maintaining consumer confidence in the KFDA’s food safety policy.

It goes without saying that his recall order is not what the KFDA previously concluded: the amount of benzopyrene contained in the products was miniscule and would not cause health problems.

Lee should keep in mind a statement issued by the Korea Food Safety Research Institute that the KFDA should have first presented scientific grounds for the recall before it reversed its conclusion.

The independent, nonprofit institute criticized the KFDA for “making a haste and reckless decision” on the noodle products.

The KFDA cited the need to ease public concerns about food safety as the reason for the recall. On the contrary, it has only amplified the concerns and lost people’s trust in the regulator.

The KFDA’s inadvertent action has also prompted a chain reaction in overseas markets. Health authorities in Taiwan, China and Japan immediately issued recall or voluntary recall of the Nongshim products, although there was no evidence about health hazard.

In fact, the recall is seen as a meaningless measure in the local market because almost all the products in question have already been sold and consumed.

Actually, the benzopyrene issue dated back to June when the KFDA found the carcinogen in 20 of 30 powered soups manufactured by 10 companies. At that time, the KFDA took administrative action against Daewang, one of the firms whose products were found to contain 10.6 to 55.6 parts per billion (ppb) of benzopyrene, higher than the permissible level of 10 ppb.

Daewang supplied its soups to Nongshim. And the KFDA detected up to 4.7 ppb of the cancer-causing substance in the six Nongshim noodle products. But it neither ordered the recall nor made the detection public since it concluded that the amounts were too small to do any harm.

There have not existed sufficient reasons to modify the conclusion. Thus, Lee should have made more efforts to persuade the lawmakers to accept the KFDA’s stance, instead of surrendering to their stubborn demand for action against the products.

The episode shows that Lee is not capable of maintaining independence and political neutrality for the food regulator. Concerns are growing that the KFDA under the leadership of such a figure as Lee may not properly play its role as the guardian of public health.

The KFDA had better find a new commissioner who is better qualified to lead the regulator. It is also required to reform itself to be more faithful to its mission of enhancing food and drug safety.

The benzopyrene case has also tarnished the image of Nongshim. The company currently exports its products to more than 80 countries around the world.

It is natural for the company to have grudge against the KFDA. However, Nonghim must take the case as an opportunity to make better products, focus more on social responsibility and do its best to protect consumer interests.

Many people still vividly remember that a mouse part was found in a pack of Saewookkang, a popular shrimp-flavored snack made by Nognshim, in 2008. Then, moth larvae and rice weevils were detected in some of its snack and ramen products.

Last year, the Fair Trade Commission slapped a fine of 155 million won with Nongshim for an exaggerated ad on its Shin Ramyeon Black product that promoted it as “a bowl of noodles as nutritious as a beef soup.”

It’s time for not only Nongshim but also other food manufacturers to regain consumer trust by enhancing the quality of products.