FALSE LABELING OF CARNATIONS

[Anchor Lead]

Carnation also known as clove pink is the top flower of gift in Korea in the month of May due to Parents Day and Teachers Day celebrations. Under domestic law, country of origin labeling is mandatory when selling flowers. A large number of companies have been caught for disguising cheap imported flowers as homegrown.

[Pkg]

Carnation is the top selling flower in the month of May which includes Parents Day and Teachers Day. On the left is a homegrown blossom while the right one is imported from China. The Chinese one is smaller and the color is less vivid. It's half the price of a Korean carnation. A large number of sellers who have not been honest about the distinction and mixed the two varieties in their sales have been uncovered by authorities. They took advantage of the fact that many consumers are not aware of the country of origin labeling rules.

[Soundbite] Son Ok-ja(Anseong, Gyeonggi-do Prov.) : "(Have you seen any country of origin labels?) No. (Not even once?) No."

[Soundbite] Kim Ae-ran(Yongin, Gyeonggi-do Prov.) : "The country of origin hasn’t been on my radar. I’m mainly concerned about the flower itself and whether it’s easy to grow."

The National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service recently carried out a clampdown and found 91 wholesale, retail and online flower vendors in violation of the regulations. The number is up 75% compared to last year. Some 647 tons of carnations were imported from January to April this year. The false labeling adds further concern to domestic floricultural farms which are struggling on the export front amid the ongoing pandemic.

[Soundbite] Im Yun-taek(Pres. of floricultural farm) : "Observing labeling rules is in other words protecting the producers. It is a way of supporting them. Poor quality flowers should not be disguised as homegrown."

The Quality Management Service asked citizens to always check the country of origin when buying flowers and to report cases when there is no such indication.