China Shaken by Cabbages Soaked in Carcinogen... Were They Distributed to South Korea?

[Anchor]

A wave of shock is hitting China after it was revealed that cabbages in one of its regions were distributed after being soaked in a Group 1 carcinogen. The tactic was used to keep the cabbages fresh, and South Korea's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety is currently investigating whether any of these cabbages have been imported into the country.

This report comes from Beijing, with correspondent Han Sang-woo.

[Reporter]

A cabbage cultivation area in Kangbao County, Zhangjiakou, Hebei Province, China.

Workers are busy loading harvested cabbages onto a truck.

However, before loading them onto the truck, the stems of the cabbages are dipped one by one into an unidentified liquid.

This liquid is formaldehyde, a Group 1 carcinogen.

Formaldehyde, a disinfectant and preservative also used for preserving biological tissues, was used under the pretext of maintaining the freshness of the cabbages.

These cabbages are believed to have been distributed to various parts of China, including Jiangsu Province, located 1,000 km away from the cultivation site.

[Weiliqige / Blogger Who Exposed Formaldehyde Cabbages: (How far are these cabbages being shipped?) Jiangsu Province. (Is this shipment going to Yancheng in Jiangsu? Or Changzhou?) It's going to Suqian.]

As the controversy grows, the Chinese government has begun tracking the distribution routes and volumes of cabbages from the relevant cultivation area.

It has also ordered checks to determine whether cabbages nationwide are contaminated with formaldehyde.

In China, there were previous incidents in 2012 and 2015 where over 1.5 million tons of cabbages were pickled and distributed using formaldehyde.

Chinese consumers are worried about how far and how extensively formaldehyde-treated cabbages have been distributed.

However, an even bigger concern is that South Korea, which imports over 300,000 tons of Chinese kimchi and cabbages annually, cannot let its guard down.

Last year, South Korea's imports of Chinese cabbages reached 20,000 tons, while kimchi imports hit 310,000 tons.

Furthermore, Chinese kimchi imports from January to July of this year exceeded 194,000 tons, marking a record high for the same period.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has increased the frequency of formaldehyde testing on Chinese cabbages at the customs clearance stage.

The ministry also stated that it is investigating through the South Korean Embassy in China whether the problematic cabbages have entered South Korea.

However, in the case of finished kimchi products, while the location of the kimchi factory is reported, it is difficult to trace which region in China the ingredient cabbages came from, calling for more thorough responses.

(Video Shooting: Choi Deok-hyun, Video Editing: Jung Yong-hwa, Design: Lee Ga-jin, Lim Chan-hyuk, Video Source: China Weiliqige Douyin)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.