Investigation uncovers food safety violations by military rations supplier

[Courtesy of Ahn Gyu-back’s office]

A special investigation launched by the South Korean food safety authority revealed that combat ration Type II, supplied to the military by a certain company between 2016 and 2020, was defective. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety initiated an investigation in September after receiving a report from the Maeil Business Newspaper alleging corruption in the procurement prices.

During the period in question, approximately 860,000 combat ration packs were reportedly consumed by soldiers, with around 1.3 million packs still in military storage.

According to the investigation results obtained by Ahn Gyu-back, a representative of the Democratic Party of Korea, from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on Monday, a manufacturer of sesame oil and corn oil used in the Type II ration packs was found to have violated distribution expiration date standards for their products. The Type II ration supplier, which used these oil products, thus violated food hygiene laws by using products that did not adhere to distribution expiration date standards. The two companies also extended the distribution expiration date for sesame oil and corn oil, which typically lasts only one to two years, to 39 months and 42 months, respectively.

With these findings, the food safety authority has requested administrative sanctions to be imposed on the companies by local government authorities. One military official stated that there is a possibility of launching an investigation by the military prosecution if the allegations are proved to be true.