Korean food firms to set up safety lab in China

More than a dozen South Korean food companies will set up a joint inspection laboratory in China to check the safety of products and ingredients used by their plants there, Yonhap News reported Wednesday.

The move comes as Seoul is set to impose tougher sanitation rules for food imported under an original equipment manufacturing arrangement between local companies and their overseas suppliers.

The Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) said 14 companies that operate food ingredient and production plants in China have reached an understanding to invest a total of 3.82 billion won ($2.97 million) to build a testing facility in Qingdao.

Qingdao in eastern China is home to many South Korean food companies, with the laboratory to apply strict safety quality standards to products they check.

"Food and beverage companies have agreed on the total and are currently reviewing investment details," an administration official said.