No Dye Found in Chinese Stem Lettuce Imports, Ministry of Food and Drug Safety Says

Amid controversy over the dyeing of lettuce with food coloring in China, no artificial coloring has been detected in Chinese stem lettuce imported into South Korea, authorities confirmed.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said Tuesday it had conducted emergency inspections of eight products currently in retail circulation and found no food dye in any of them.

The ministry has strengthened customs-stage inspections of Chinese stem lettuce imports since Monday to check for food coloring use. It is also collecting and testing additional products already in domestic retail beyond the initial eight samples.

The measures follow the detection of businesses in Yuzhong County, Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China, that had been applying dye to stem lettuce.

The controversy erupted after a Chinese social media user recently posted a 1-minute-44-second exposé video online. The user is a content creator who specializes in food safety and public health footage in China.

In the video, workers dip stem lettuce — known in South Korea as "gungchae" — into plastic containers filled with an unidentified green liquid before pulling it back out.

After the controversy broke, local authorities conducted joint crackdowns and inspections of 53 storage and retail businesses in the area. As a result, six companies were found to have used dye during the sorting and washing process to improve the vegetable's appearance.

The use of any coloring, including food dye, on raw agricultural produce is prohibited in both South Korea and China.

Whether stem lettuce treated with food coloring in China has been imported into South Korea is currently being verified through the South Korean Embassy in China.

The ministry said it would "continuously monitor hazard information related to dye-treated stem lettuce from China and swiftly strengthen inspections not only at the import stage but also in domestic retail, so that the public can consume food with confidence."