Posted on 07/24/2026 12:24:57 PM PDT by Libloather
The owner of a Michelin-starred restaurant in South Korea is facing up to a year in jail and a fine of roughly $13,510 after the eatery allegedly served ants atop its sorbets.
The proprietor of the Seoul restaurant, not identified in court documents, acknowledged serving ants, which are not among the insect species approved for human consumption under South Korea’s Food Sanitation Act. The law approves 10 other insect species for human consumption — but not ants, the BBC reported.
The country’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety discovered the violation through customers’ social media posts and online reviews mentioning ants, according to reports.
Grasshoppers, mealworms, silkworm pupae, locusts and two-spotted crickets are among the insects the government has approved as food, based on health and nutrition criteria.
Prosecutors allege the ants served at the restaurant contained heavy metal levels up to 55 times the maximum limit allowed for other edible insects.
They accuse the restaurant of importing dried ants and using approximately 49,000 of them in dishes since 2021.
Defense attorneys disputed that figure, according to The Chosun Daily.
Ants were offered as an optional garnish for the sorbet, the restaurant owner’s defense argued, and only 60% of diners chose them over other options, including fermented vinegar and edible flowers, the South Korean newspaper reported.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
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EXPIRED! EXPIRED!! EXPIRED!!!
Actually, it’s kind of tasty!
“Black ant salted rim margarita”
To be fair, anything would be an improvement to soebet.
Tastes kinda like spotted owl.
Not much different from regular chocolate jimmies.
I did notice that in the Trump Administration’s announcement today of new Section 301 “forced labor” tariffs, that “edible insects” from Jordan were given 0% import duty into the USA.
Eat up! Its what’s for dinner!
If you cant beat them, eat them..
Yuck. I would have went with the edible flowers.
True story! This past April, we ordered the Grand Margaritas @ the Mex restaurant in Disney EPCOT. Here they come with this copper colored rim salt, and very potent drinks. One each was plenty enough for both of us.
We both said “hmmm... tastes sorta, kinda like chili powder.”
I got to looking more closely at the menu, and sure enough, ant powder mixed with salt! Mrs. wabbott wasn’t amused.
I thought it was hilarious. Had kind of a whang to it.
THEM!!!
I got ants in my pants and I want to dance
The chef is actually ecologically sensitive. Ant overpopulation is a serious problem. There are an estimated 20 quadrillion ants in the world, 2.5 million for each human being!
You will eat them and be happy in the new global order. Lots of protein.
After all, not everybody wants to eat insects. 
I don't see a prob w/optional.
Ants are one of the better bugs to eat, because they eat mostly plants.
Sandy Descher’s performance was scary good.
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