[Editorial] Nat'l Fish Cooperative and Bad School Lunches

The National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives (NFFC) has been disguising foreign marine products as Korean and frozen fish as if fresh and selling them to schools for school lunches. Consumers are frustrated; having believed they were buying "fresh domestic," they now think they cannot trust anyone. But that is not all. The Hankyoreh has found a list of school complaints, and it appears that in foodstuff from NFFC they have found rusty nails, scraps of rubber tires, flies and other insects, and other unimaginable foreign objects. Sometimes its products have had mold or were severely discolored, but ended up being used anyway. It is dizzying to imagine it ending up in students' mouths.

NFFC is the largest supplier of marine products to schools in the Seoul and greater capital region, since it supplies one in three schools in the area. It is far more expensive than private companies, yet many schools chose it anyway, because they wanted to give students lunches that are fresh and safe. Its sales in school lunch ingredients have increased fourfold over the past five or six years as a result. This matter mercilessly tramples on schools' trust and confidence. Reportedly, local sales agents formally complained and called for improvements in quality, but NFFC never listened. It needs to be held legally responsible for lying about the country of origin on some of its products and for violating laws on hygiene standards.

This situation reveals how government oversight has had a total lack of awareness. The government office responsible for keeping watch is the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, but it has never once looked into the situation. The Food and Drug Administration kept renewing its safe quality sticker. It is pathetic that it didn't even know about the police investigation for five months and only just now has announced it will file a complaint with the prosecution and engage in a special audit.

We hope to see the authorities rise to the occasion and review food safety at other school lunch suppliers such as the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation and the livestock cooperative. The consumers' campaign to have safe Korean food products on school tables must not be made ashamed of.

The Hankyoreh, 15 April 2006.

[Translations by Seoul Selection]