A number of restaurants in Busan have been caught engaging in illegal activities such as reusing leftovers from customers’ meals.
On the 8th, the Busan Special Judicial Police Division announced that it conducted a special investigation on illegal acts against 225 food service establishments and found 11메이저놀이터 offending establishments in total.
An investigator marks cabbage kimchi to check whether it can be reused (left) and the marked kimchi is found in a restaurant kitchen reuse bin [Photo source=Busan Special Judicial Police Division].
The crackdown, which was conducted day and night, focused on the secretive reuse of leftover food in restaurants. In particular, the crackdown centered on restaurants that serve Korean food, such as knight restaurants, gukbap restaurants, and set meals, which are expected to produce a lot of leftover food because they serve a relatively large number of side dishes and can be eaten for one person.
Eight restaurants were found to have reused leftover food, two restaurants disguised Chinese ingredients as domestic, and one restaurant operated as a general restaurant without reporting.
The reuse of leftover food was mostly done secretly in the kitchen.
One restaurant reused cabbage kimchi left by customers to make kimchi soup.
In some cases, side dishes were moved from one table to another.
One restaurant was even caught by enforcement investigators trying to serve leftover side dishes to another customer’s table.
A restaurant collecting leftover cabbage kimchi, dongchimi, gochujang pickles, and thermal radish kimchi in separate containers for reuse. [Photo courtesy of Busan Metropolitan City].
Among the businesses caught in the crackdown, operators who reused food left by customers will face up to three years in prison or a fine of up to 30 million won under the Food Hygiene Act, and those who falsely labeled the country of origin will face up to seven years in prison or a fine of up to 100 million won under the Agricultural Products Origin Labeling Act.
An official from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Department said, “We understand that there are difficulties in operating due to the recent inflation, but reusing leftover food is an act that threatens the health and safety of citizens,” adding, “We will continue to carry out guidance crackdowns to create a healthy eating culture.”