"Frozen Blueberries, I Just Took Them Out and Ate Them... Make Sure to Check This Phrase" [Health Issue]

[Financial News] As fruit prices rise in the summer, more consumers are turning to frozen fruit, which is relatively cheaper. However, it is best to check how to eat it before consuming it.
According to the retail industry on the 11th, E-Mart's frozen fruit sales in the first half of this year rose 19.1% from a year earlier. Lotte Mart also saw an 11% increase. Kurly Inc. expanded its frozen fruit assortment by more than 20% and boosted sales by nearly 40%.
Among them, sales of the 1.5-kilogram frozen blueberry product from the United States jumped 172%. Consumers are drawn to it because they can take out only what they need and store it for a long time.
One thing consumers must check when eating frozen fruit is the product package's 'food category' field.
Frozen fruit labeled as 'agricultural products' in the food category must be washed before eating. That is because products labeled this way are frozen without a separate washing process, so bacteria or pesticide residues may remain.
By contrast, products labeled as 'processed fruit and vegetable products' have already been washed and prepared for consumption, so they can be eaten right away.

If there are no cautionary notes and no food category listed, it is safer to wash the fruit before eating it.
In May last year, frozen blueberries from China were also recalled after pesticide residues exceeded the limit. Procymidone was detected at 0.10 mg per kilogram, 10 times the standard level of 0.01 mg. A total of 109,740 kilograms imported by a company in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province, was recalled.
In June, frozen green grapes from Türkiye also caused problems. Acetamiprid was detected above the limit of 2.0 mg per kilogram, prompting a recall of products imported by a company in Gangnam-gu, Seoul.

[email protected] Ahn Ga-eul Reporter