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Food News Clipping

August 31, 2011

2011.09.01

FAS/Seoul Monitoring of Media Reporting on Agricultural Issues

Today's Date: Wednesday August 31, 2011

For Coverage: August 26 - 31, 2011

1. LIVESTOCK ISSUES

The end is not always the end [English, KJH]

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2940612

Full Text: Can you measure love? According to a study by the College of Human Ecology at Cornell University, the answer is yes. And how long does love last? If the study is to be believed, most relationships last about 18 to 30 months.

In 2002, the Cornell University research team showed that love can be measured by various neurotransmitters and hormones secreted by the brain. When you are in love, the brain produces dopamine phenylethylamine, oxytocin and endorphins. When love fades, these hormones are no longer produced. The team also surveyed 5,000 men and women on how long passionate love lasts. After about 18 months, the cerebrum becomes immune to love and the secretion of chemicals related to love becomes delayed. As time goes by, the brain responds to love less and less.

Love changes with time, but there is no law that defines its expiration date. And even if it did have one, it would not necessarily mean that the relationship is over.

The same goes for food. Even when the expiration date is reached, not all food goes bad. However, the current system prohibits the sale and distribution of expired food - whether or not it is spoiled - and the company that made the product has to collect and dispose of it. Every year, the food industry spends about 650 billion won ($598 million) a year on expired food.

The government has required all food items to have a label with an expiration date since 1985. But those in the food industry say that current expiration date labelling is too strict, with some arguing that the standards were made when refrigerators were not widely used. For example, the expiration date for milk is five to seven days, but when properly refrigerated, milk will not go bad for up to 20 days. Snacks and instant noodles have expiration dates of about six months, but it would not harm the public to extend that by two or three months.

To extend the shelf life of certain processed goods like milk, the government is considering replacing expiration-date labels with “use by” labels. The new labels would inform buyers of the date by which food is safe to be consumed. They would also help stabilize consumer prices because some goods can no longer be used once the expiration date passes, and companies sometimes raise prices to make up for the loss.

We should work together to come up with a wise solution for this important public health problem.

*The writer is an editorial writer of the JoongAng Ilbo.

2. MARKETING ISSUES

Lotte Mart Opens 200^th Store [Korean, OSY]

http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/economy/2011/08/30/0318000000AKR20110830145400003.HTML

Lotte Mart opened its 200^th store on August 31, which was located in Changjun, China. Lotte Mart president B.Y. Noh commented in a press interview at the opening that Lotte Mart planned to be the largest retail company in Asia by opening additional 500 stores by 2018. Currently Lotte Mart has 92 stores in Korea and 102 in other Asian countries, including 83 in China.

Woolsan-si Approves A New COSTCO Store Despite Opposition of Local Retailers [Korean, OSY]

http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/economy/2011/08/29/0318000000AKR20110829179800057.HTML

City government of Woolsan ordered on August 29 that North district of the city should approve COSTCO to build a new store in the district. Head of the North District, a People’s Labor Party politician, had been refusing to approve the construction application based on complaints from local small scale retailers.

The information in this report was compiled by the Agricultural Trade Office (ATO) at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, South Korea. The press summaries contained herein do NOT reflect USDA, the U.S. Embassy, or other U.S. government agency official policy or view point. U.S. food exporters can learn more about market opportunities in South Korea by reviewing ATO Seoul’s Exporter Guide and other reports available at www.fas.usda.gov by clicking on “attaché reports”.

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