Gov't to introduce product tracing system for bay salt

SEOUL, March 25 (Yonhap) -- The government will introduce a voluntary tracing
system for South Korean-produced bay salt within the year to raise quality and
consumer confidence in the key dietary mineral, officials said Thursday.

The tracing system will be introduced as a pilot project in cooperation with salt
producers after the government submits a bill on related legislative measures to
the National Assembly in the first half of this year, according to the officials
at the farm ministry.
A tracing system for the mineral will require extensive tracking and verification
infrastructure but can allow consumers to easily know when and where the salt was
produced and to check the quality of the salt they are buying.
The ministry said that after all related laws are passed and a trial tracing
takes place to get feedback from producers and consumers, the government may move
for full-fledged tracking of all bay salt sold on the market starting around 2012
at the earliest.
"Judging by past experience with certain types of seafood and beef, two to three
years may be needed for all the tracking and confirmation system to be in place,"
an official said.
The ministry has designated bay salt as a "strategic" product that has the
potential to be globally competitive. Bay salt is much more expensive than
ordinary table salt and is valued around the world by chefs and ordinary
consumers who are drawn to the flavor it gives to foods.
Local bay or sea salt, produced by the slow evaporation of seawater mostly from
the western and southern coasts, has the potential to equal to France's Guerande
gray sea salt, the ministry says.
Produced on vast mud flats, South Korean bay salt is known for its flavor and is
rich in minerals such as calcium, magnesium and potassium. The abundance of
minerals gives it an advantage over normal table salt made from pure sodium
chloride or salt produced from rock salt minerals.
In 2009, the country produced 380,000 tons of bay salt worth around 70 billion
won (US$61.4 million) at the production level. Most are consumed domestically
although there is a growing market for the product in the United States and
Japan.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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