The government said Thursday it will carry out thorough tests to check for pesticides, antibiotics, agricultural chemicals and residual medicines before issuing egg farms a state-administered food safety certification.

The move comes amid growing public anger over the recent discovery that 28 egg farms out of the 52 that violated the level of permissible pesticide residue had received Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points accreditation. HACCP is a global set of guidelines for the prevention of health risks in the food industry.
 

The survey was done recently after some eggs on market shelves were found to have been contaminated with harmful insecticides such as bifenthrin and fipronil.

The government evaluation system has so far focused on antibiotics and other residual chemicals without examining herbicides or insecticides.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said the enhanced evaluation system will take effect next month.

The new system requires egg farm owners to record the purchase, use and disposal of insecticides, antibiotics and other agricultural chemicals and come up with ways to remove residual medicines before applying for the HACCP certification.

Egg farmers are also supposed to examine residual pesticides on eggs.

"It is urgent that the government establish consumer confidence in its accreditation," Lee Hyang-ki, vice chairman of the Consumers Union of Korea, said. "The operation of the HACCP system turned out to be a total mess, although the government has said it is a cure-all for food safety management." (Yonhap)