"Failing Grade on Hygiene"... 'K livestock products' blocked from U.S. and EU markets [K livestock products held back by export barriers]

Despite the global rise of K-food, domestic livestock products have failed to meet the hygiene standards of the United States and the European Union (EU), leaving exporters unable to find a way into overseas markets. In a domestic on-site inspection conducted by the United States and the EU in 2023 for livestock product imports, companies were found to have received failing marks on overall hygiene standards. The inspection was carried out by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety after voluntary applications from companies seeking to export to those regions. Since then, there has been no second attempt. To give K-food globalization a stronger push, companies must undergo a thorough overhaul, and government oversight is needed to open the door not only to processed foods but also to the export of fresh agricultural and livestock products to major markets.
According to documents from the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) under the United States Department of Agriculture and the European Commission's Directorate-General for Food Safety, which Financial News obtained exclusively on the 17th, on-site audits of major domestic food companies' slaughterhouses and processing plants in 2023 found that South Korea's livestock hygiene standards did not fully meet local HACCP systems or sanitation management requirements, and that it was difficult to prove disease-free status. The response was sent by the U.S. FSIS and the EU food safety authority after this newspaper repeatedly asked by email since May about the results of the 2023 inspection.
The two agencies said at the time that the on-site inspection in South Korea showed there was no immediate risk of livestock epidemics and that monitoring for avian influenza (AI) and Newcastle disease (ND) was effective. However, they also pointed out that South Korea had not achieved hygiene levels equivalent to those of the United States and the EU, and that laboratories conducting AI surveillance had been left off the list of sites subject to guidance and inspection. The survey was conducted after the MFDS and major domestic companies jointly requested a hygiene review for pork exports to the United States and the EU. Not only slaughterhouses and processing plants, but also major domestic food companies that serve as K-food export hubs were criticized for poor hygiene and management in the audit. At present, exports of domestic livestock products to advanced markets such as the United States and the EU are effectively blocked. Poultry is the only category that can currently be exported, but only nine domestic facilities have met the strict standards of the U.S. FSIS and qualified for export.
Unlike poultry, which is being exported only on a limited basis, pork and beef have not even reached the negotiation table. To export beef to the United States and the EU, South Korea must prove its status as a foot-and-mouth disease free country under strict requirements. But past outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease, along with the preventive policy of continuous vaccination, have effectively shut the door on exports.
An industry source said, "Processed foods are enjoying strong popularity in global markets, but without fresh agricultural and livestock products, it is difficult to fully reproduce the taste of Korean cuisine locally." The source added, "For true globalization of Korean cuisine, the government must provide oversight and support so that export quarantine and hygiene standards for livestock products, which are the raw materials, can be brought up to advanced-country levels first."
[email protected] Park Kyung-ho Reporter