According to the Food Safety Department - Ministry of Health, recently, some websites in Korea have reported on incidents of sterilized milk being contaminated with detergent and having to be recalled.
To proactively control food safety, the Food Safety Department contacted the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety of Korea (MFDS) to verify the information. MFDS coordinated with local authorities to conduct an inspection at the Gwangju factory of Maeil Dairy Co., Ltd.
Accordingly, the incident of sterilized milk products being contaminated with detergent during the production process has been investigated, determining the cause as well as the number of affected products, specifically as follows:
The affected Original Maeil Milk (Sterilized) 200ml product was manufactured on September 19, 2024 at Maeil Dairy's Gwangju factory and has an expiration date of February 16, 2025.
The cause of the incident was an operating error during the production process and the detergent valve was opened for about one (01) second, causing the detergent (containing 2.8% sodium hydroxide) to mix into the product filling line.
It is estimated that approximately 50 products per second were affected based on the equipment's capacity. However, all products produced that day were voluntarily recalled by the company.
MFDS has requested the plant to rectify and re-establish an operating plan to prevent similar incidents in the future.
The affected products are only for domestic consumption in Korea (delivered to one location) and are not for export.
The Food Safety Department informs the public and says it will continue to update when there is new information from the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.
