Seoul Luxury Restaurant Fined Heavily For Serving Desserts Garnished With Live Ants
Photo: Collected
A renowned luxury restaurant in South Korea's capital, Seoul, has been hit with heavy fines after investigators discovered it was garnishing a dessert with live ants.
A local court fined the owner of the upscale restaurant, Evert, 15 million won for violating food hygiene laws, while the operating company was slapped with an additional 10-million-won fine. Under South Korean regulations, ants are not included on the list of 10 insect species approved for human consumption, which instead features grasshoppers, locusts, and specific types of silkworms.
The bizarre practice came to light after the Ministry of Food and Safety reviewed online customer reviews and photographs posted by patrons. Subsequent investigations revealed that the owner had been importing vast quantities of ants from the United States and Thailand over a four-year period. The insects were used to enhance the aesthetic appeal and impart a sour flavor to 15 specific dessert items, with thousands of ants served to customers during this timeframe.
Handing down the ruling, the judge emphasized that the offense went beyond a mere breach of food policy. Laboratory tests detected excessive levels of harmful heavy metals in the ants, posing a severe threat to human health, which meant the violation could not be taken lightly.
In his defense, the accused restaurant owner argued that he was unaware ants were banned for consumption in South Korea, noting that eating them is common in many other countries. He also claimed that the ants were used in only a very small fraction of their specialized 15-item menu.
