A list of around 700 shops that were discovered to have lied about the nation of origin of their imported beef was released two days ago. It is shocking that the list includes not just major supermarkets but almost every body, including ordinary restaurants, rest stops, wedding halls and even kindergartens. What is more regretful is that the government tried to hide the names, but was forced to release it after an information disclosure request by MINBYUN-Lawyers for a Democratic Society. It seems as if the government is placing corporate profits ahead of food safety.

The widespread false labeling of imported beef shows that our society’s level of consciousness about food safety is backwards. It is absolutely pathetic that companies continue to engage in the shameful behavior of merely generating profits by relabeling cheap imported U.S. beef as domestic or Austrailian beef. Although businesses want money, fooling the people about the origin of their food cannot occur any longer. Both the businesses involved and the people as a whole must renew their understanding of food safety so that this backward behavior no longer has a place.

We cannot, however, entrust this only to the good will of the businesses involved. If the government fails to strictly crack down and sternly punish violators, we cannot root out this shameless behavior. The government pledged it would root out the false labeling of the nation of origin through 4,700 government employees from June to August, 2008, when U.S. beef imports resumed. The reality, however, is that one cannot expect strict control due to personnel shortages. Moreover, the light punishment of merely paying a fine has meant that the false labeling of the nation of origin has not come to an end.

If the government is to root out the false labeling of the nation of origin, it must more concretely expose those in violation of the law. Since amending the relevant law on Nov. 9 of last year, the government has been publishing a list of violating firms on the homepage of the Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. The only information revealed on the website, however, is that the violation involved beef. It is not possible to discern if U.S. beef was passed off as South Korean beef, or labeled as Australian beef. Revealing details about the false labels could provide a greater amount of information to consumers.

If the nation of origin is falsely labeled, it is the people who feel harmful effects. This is a violation of the right to choose and consume safe food, and economically, one could see unjust losses. We urge the government to strongly crack down and punish businesses that mislabel the nation of origin of imported beef so that this does not happen again.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]