In this file photo from Aug. 23, 2022, customers shop for groceries at a discount store in Seoul. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Aug. 22 (Korea Bizwire) — Imported animal-origin foods, subject to import restrictions and often confiscated by customs, can now serve as livestock feed instead of being confiscated or sent back.
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on Monday made an advance notice of legislative plan regarding the partial revision of the enforcement regulations for the Import Food Safety Management Special Act.
Currently, when imported foods are rejected during customs clearance, only plant-based products such as grains and beans receive approval from the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs to be repurposed as animal feed, rather than being discarded or returned.
However, the proposed revision of the enforcement regulations would extend this allowance to animal-based foods and their processed products, contingent upon approval from the Agriculture Minister.
The quantity of animal-origin foods rejected during customs clearance and subsequently discarded or returned over the past three years totals 1,898 tons, valued at 14.8 billion won (US$11 million), according to the drug safety ministry.
The revision is anticipated to mitigate economic losses for importers and reduce the environmental burden associated with resource disposal.
J. S. Shin (js_shin@koreabizwire.com)
