Ministry of Food and Drug Safety conducts hygiene inspections at 4,300 daycare centers nationwide and conducts norovirus food poisoning prevention training

Norovirus food poisoning prevention and mass cooking precautions training

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Park Sang-hyun = The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced on the 2nd that it will inspect the sanitary conditions of about 4,300 daycare centers across the country together with local governments from the 12th to the 30th of this month.

The contents of the inspection include whether products are used or stored beyond their expiration date, whether preserved food is stored, and whether food facilities are hygienic.

In addition, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety plans to collect prepared foods and cooking utensils and inspect them for contamination with food poisoning bacteria.

During this inspection period, we will also provide training on hygiene management to prevent norovirus food poisoning, how to respond when food poisoning occurs, and precautions to take when cooking large quantities of food.

Norovirus can survive even at minus 20 degrees Celsius, so norovirus food poisoning is known to occur frequently in winter.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced that it inspected 6,173 daycare centers in the first half of this year, and that all daycare facilities will be inspected through additional inspections in the second half of the year.

In the first half of the year, seven childcare center cafeterias were found to have violated the Food Sanitation Act.

An official from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said, “We will continue to conduct hygiene inspections and food poisoning prevention education for daycare centers and group cafeterias.”