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South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said Wednesday that it caught 147 unmanned stores storing or displaying products past their use-by dates, following a special inspection of food-selling unmanned stores nationwide.
Consumers, including children, increasingly visit unmanned stores near schools and apartment complexes to buy ice cream and snacks, raising concerns about hygiene management at these outlets.
The inspection was conducted from the 6th to the 24th of last month in cooperation with 17 local governments. The inspection covered 6,284 unmanned stores located near schools, private academy districts, and apartment commercial areas, with a comprehensive survey of outlets selling snacks, ice cream and other products.
“Unmanned stores are rapidly increasing recently, but due to the nature of having no resident management personnel, there are concerns about hygiene management blind spots, which prompted the inspection,” the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said.
All violations at the 147 outlets caught in the inspection involved storing or displaying products past their use-by dates. Relevant authorities will proceed with administrative measures against the outlets, and the ministry plans to verify improvements through a follow-up inspection within six months.
“When purchasing food at unmanned stores, please carefully check labeling information including the use-by date,” the ministry said. “If a store sells products without proper labeling or past their use-by dates, please report it to the Unsafe Food Report Center or through the smartphone app ‘Naesonan.'”