[Seawater decomposition] Tongyeong oysters bound for the U.S.… Public toilets on the sea are subject to inspection

When inspecting oysters from Tongyeong, Gyeongsangnam-do that are exported to the United States, there are inspection items that are essential.

It is a public toilet floating right on the sea.

Why do we check the bathroom when we check the sanitary conditions of the oysters we eat?

The story goes back to 2012.

At that time, norovirus, which causes food poisoning, was detected in domestic oysters, leading to the suspension of oyster exports to the United States.

Norovirus can be transmitted through water contaminated with human feces.

In particular, oysters can accumulate viruses in their bodies while filtering seawater and consuming food, so the sea environment in which oysters grow is as important as the hygiene of the oysters themselves.

Accordingly, the government introduced the world's first 'sea public toilet', which applies land-based toilets to the sea, to prevent waste from entering the sea.

The reason behind the emergence of toilets on the sea was an effort to protect the export route for our oysters.

Even after 10 years, sea public toilets are still an important inspection target for oyster exports.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) visited Tongyeong and conducted a wide-ranging inspection, ranging from the management of contaminants in the sea area where oysters grow, to the harvest and distribution process, and the operation of sanitary management facilities.

At this time, we checked whether public sea toilets and sewage treatment facilities were operating properly and considered the possibility of contamination such as excrement flowing into the oyster production area.

If any nonconformities are found during the inspection process, the FDA will review whether improvement measures are implemented and make a final decision on whether to continue exporting Korean shellfish to the United States.

An official from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said, "Rather than inspecting already produced oysters, the FDA examines the sea environment where oysters grow to determine whether they are suitable marine products for import to the United States. We have been working with Tongyeong City to maintain a clean production environment by expanding sewage treatment facilities and strengthening hygiene management in the sea area."

The Fishery Product Safety Policy Department of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, which was officially launched this year, is responsible for ensuring the safety of our marine products and expanding overseas export routes.

In addition to safety and radioactivity investigation and origin management of marine products, we also support sanitary management and related negotiations so that the safety of our marine products can be recognized overseas.

Recently, as ‘K-seafood’ has received global attention, their role is becoming more important.

A representative example is the expansion of fresh seafood export routes to China.

Until now, most of the marine products exported by Korea to China were frozen marine products with relatively low unit prices, such as frozen mackerel and cutlassfish.

This is because strict import procedures, such as China's prior inspection and quarantine permit system, have hindered the export of fresh marine products.

The government has been negotiating for over 10 years to lower this threshold, but has been unable to find a breakthrough.

Then, with the Korea-China summit last January, it became possible to export all high value-added natural marine products and fresh marine products such as refrigerated bottlenose to China as long as they met the requirements such as issuance of a hygiene certificate.

Korea exported about 18,900 tons of refrigerated marine products to China, worth 79.7 billion won.

An official from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said, “Our marine products, which had been blocked by strict quarantine procedures, are now one step closer to the Chinese market with a population of 1.4 billion,” and added, “We expect that the competitiveness of our marine products will increase and exports will expand in the Chinese market, where demand for fresh marine products is high.”

Kim, who has captured the tastes of people around the world by being called a ‘black semiconductor’, is also preparing to enter the wider overseas market.

Until now, there have been no common international standards for seaweed hygiene and quality, so different standards have been applied in each country.

Korea, which accounts for more than 70% of the global seaweed market, had to spend additional time and money to meet the different requirements of each exporting country.

Accordingly, Korea proposed the establishment of international standards for seaweed products containing quality standards and food additives to the Codex International (CODEX), and the draft standards have now passed the interim review.

If an internationally accepted standard is created, it is expected that non-tariff barriers that arise due to different standards in each country will be lowered and the seaweed export market can be further expanded.

In Korea, managing fishery products so that people can eat them safely is also an important role of the fishery product safety policy.

In particular, as public interest in the radioactivity safety and origin of seafood has increased following the discharge of contaminated water from Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant in August 2023, the importance of related work has also increased.

The Fishery Product Safety Policy Department monitors the safety of seafood on our tables through radiation testing, safety investigations, and country of origin management.

In the future, we plan to manage where and how marine products are caught in a more systematic manner.

In accordance with the 'Sustainable Coastal Fisheries Development Act', which will be implemented in June next year, a foundation will be established to computerize and provide information to the public, such as the trenches where marine products are caught and the type of fishing industry.

An official from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said, "It is important to carefully check the safety and manage related information transparently so that the public can eat marine products with confidence," and added, "We will make efforts to ensure that our marine products are trusted domestically and competitive overseas."