"To Make Them Look Fresh": 'Dyed Lettuce' Controversy Erupts

[Anchor]

In China, which previously sparked controversy over napa cabbage soaked in cancer-causing substances, companies have now been caught dyeing lettuce with unauthorized coloring agents. To make them look fresh, stem lettuce, known as "gongchae," was dipped in green dye. Authorities are currently verifying whether any of these products were imported into South Korea.

Reporter Kim Young-a has the details.

[Reporter]

This is a vegetable processing workshop in Gansu Province, China.

Workers dip vegetables into plastic containers filled with liquid and take them out.

It is stem lettuce, or "gongchae," which is also used in side dishes and other culinary recipes in South Korea.

['Dyed Lettuce' Whistleblowing Blogger : It has been confirmed that a vegetable dyeing base exists in Yuzhong County, Lanzhou City, Gansu Province. More than half of the 13 vegetable warehouses were captured using an unidentified liquid.]

The Chinese blogger who posted the video online exposed that an analysis of the solution used at the workshop revealed it to be a "compound coloring agent."

The intention was to coat the lettuce with green pigment to make it appear fresher.

As the controversy grew, authorities in Gansu Province launched inspections and cracked down on six lettuce businesses out of 53 in the region for producing dyed lettuce.

The colorants used by these companies are permitted as additives in certain foods like beverages, but are strictly prohibited for use on fresh vegetables.

The total volume of "dyed lettuce" uncovered at the six companies amounts to 80 tons.

Authorities stated that all the products seized on-site have been completely discarded.

Chinese authorities have booked the six implicated companies and are investigating the exact distribution routes of the dyed lettuce.

The South Korean Embassy in China has requested Chinese authorities to verify whether this dyed lettuce was also exported to South Korea.

(Video Editing: Park Choon-bae)

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