No formaldehyde found in Chinese cabbage cleared through customs Monday and Tuesday, food safety agency says

South Korea's food safety agency said Wednesday that emergency inspections of Chinese cabbage imported into the country found no traces of formaldehyde, following reports that the preservative chemical had been used on cabbage circulating in China.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said precision inspections of eight shipments of Chinese cabbage that cleared customs between Monday and Tuesday detected no formaldehyde in any of them.

Since tightening customs-stage inspections on Monday, the ministry has been testing every incoming shipment of Chinese cabbage for formaldehyde. It is also running parallel inspections of baechu kimchi and salted cabbage, examining products by overseas manufacturing facility.

Beyond customs checks, the agency has begun a safety review of products already on the domestic market. It is collecting all Chinese-made cabbage, baechu kimchi and salted cabbage currently in retail circulation for testing and will release the results as soon as they are available.

China's central government earlier launched a special investigation after it emerged that some rural areas had been spraying cabbage with formaldehyde solution to preserve freshness.

The ministry said it is working through official channels with Chinese authorities to determine whether any of the formaldehyde-treated cabbage implicated in China has entered South Korea.

"We will continue to monitor information related to formaldehyde-treated cabbage in China, strengthen our inspections, and do our utmost to ensure the public can eat with confidence," the ministry said.