The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) recently conducted a special inspection related to the "egg marking system" and discovered nine distribution and sales companies of edible eggs and three livestock farming enterprises that falsely indicated laying dates and breeding environment numbers.
The egg marking system requires that laying dates, farm unique numbers, and breeding environment numbers be marked on the eggshells. This is to ensure that consumers can intuitively understand the environment in which the eggs were produced.
This special inspection was the first conducted in five years since the system was implemented in 2019. The MFDS plans to actively crack down on violators and protect consumers.
◇ Sold eggs marked with breeding environment number '1' worth 250 million won
According to the MFDS, this special inspection was conducted from Nov. 18 of last year to the 9th of last month. It was reported that the inspection targeted farms (livestock raising) and distribution companies (edible egg sorting and packaging companies and edible egg collection and sales companies) that had excessively high distributions of eggs marked as breeding environment (1) compared to the number of animals certified as free-range welfare between April and August of last year.
An MFDS official noted, "Most farms are not freely accessible and are closed off, making it difficult to manage whether the egg marking system is being properly implemented. We requested cooperation from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and reviewed the distribution history of eggs from over 50 farms. Based on this, we conducted on-site investigations."
As a result of the inspections, a total of five places were found to have falsely recorded the information on the eggshells. The company that falsely indicated the breeding environment number was AF Geumgang, while those that falsely marked the laying dates were Seyang Co., Natural Allo Co., and Organic Park. Additionally, other violations included ▲ lack of record-keeping for edible egg sorting and packaging (3 places), ▲ false issuance of transaction statements (3 places), ▲ no storage of transaction statements (1 place).
Eggshells sold in the market must be marked with the laying date (4 digits) + farm unique number (5 digits) + breeding environment number (1 digit). For example, if an egg is labeled 0823M3FDS2, the laying date is August 23, the farm unique number is M3FDS2, and the breeding environment number is 2. Eggs sold in the store as "breeding environment number 1" refer to the number at the end indicating the breeding environment.
Breeding environment number 1 means that the eggs were laid by chickens raised to roam freely in a pasture. Number 2 indicates eggs laid by chickens raised in a barn with free access to both cages and the barn. Number 3 is for improved cages, while number 4 refers to eggs laid by chickens raised in traditional cages. Number 4 is the most commonly produced egg in poultry farms, where 20 chickens are raised per square meter.
Typically, breeding environment numbers 1 and 2 are referred to as "welfare eggs." Welfare eggs are about 1.5 times more expensive than regular eggs, but many consumers prefer them. Consumers seeking healthy and clean foods, such as baby formula, pay close attention to the marking number when purchasing eggs.
The company AF Geumgang, which falsely marked the breeding environment number, purchased eggs produced in a breeding environment number 2 farm without the appropriate marking, then falsely indicated the breeding environment number as '1' and sold them to three well-known distribution companies. During the two-month investigation period, sales amounted to approximately 560,000 eggs (selling price around 250 million won), according to the MFDS.
The company reportedly claimed that it falsified records out of fear of facing contractual disadvantages if it could not meet the number of eggs ordered by the distribution companies. However, industry insiders view the situation differently.
An industry official said, "It's difficult for distributors to be in a superior position since the production volume of number 1 eggs is so low." They stated that it would not be feasible to switch suppliers or impose penalties for not meeting the production volume of number 1 eggs. An MFDS official noted, "It is estimated that only about 1% of the total eggs produced domestically are number 1 eggs."
◇ MFDS said it will conduct follow-up inspections after administrative dispositions and will take legal action
The marking of numbers on eggshells began in 2019. The egg marking system was implemented following the so-called "insecticide egg" incident in 2017. At that time, it was reported that eggs contaminated with the insecticide ingredient fipronil were distributed in Europe, and the same ingredient was later found in eggs produced domestically in the same year.
On farms, it is inevitable to cram many chickens into small spaces to lower the price of eggs, and in the process of eliminating pests attached to the chickens' bodies, pesticides must be used. The marking of breeding environment numbers and laying dates is implemented to ensure consumers' right to know and to prevent the distribution of old eggs.
In this special inspection, the places that falsely indicated the laying date were confirmed to have labeled all eggs with the most recent laying date while sorting and packaging eggs produced on different dates.
An MFDS official stated, "If suppliers falsify laying dates or breeding environment numbers, there is no way for distributors to detect this. The local government authority plans to conduct follow-up inspections to verify improvements after administrative actions are taken against violators and will report them to ensure that any unjust gains taken from consumers are returned."
They added, "When violators emerge, it not only harms consumers but also affects other farms." The MFDS stated that it would strengthen guidance and inspections using livestock distribution information from the integrated food administration system, welfare livestock farm certifications, and livestock history management information to prevent the recurrence of similar violations.