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S. Korea: Rat’s head leads to cracker recall (baby rat head scare: made-in-China?)
JongAng Daily ^ | 03/19/08

Posted on 03/19/2008 8:37:33 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster

Rat’s head leads to cracker recall

March 19, 2008

When it was revealed that a rat head was found in a jumbo-size packet of shrimp crackers, the public reaction was fast and furious. With consumers quickly focusing on the fact that the product might have come from China and might go beyond a single container of the popular noraebang saeukkang snack, the manufacturer, Nongshim, was forced to make a public apology yesterday and to recall up to 30,000 cases of the crackers.

Nongshim accepted sole blame for the accident involving what it says is Korea’s No. 1 snack food and said it would halt production of the jumbo packets immediately. The company is also removing the product from stores, said a spokesman for Nongshim. Between 20,000 and 30,000 cases of the product, made around the time that the rat’s head was discovered, will be pulled off the shelves.

The company is also under fire because the customer complaint was received Feb. 18, but the company didn’t do anything about it until the Food and Drug Administration announced on Monday that a substance believed to be a rat’s head was found and that it probably came from raw materials shipped from the Nongshim factory in Qingdao, China.

The rat scare follows a series of incidents involving tainted Chinese-made dumplings in Japan and poisoned pet food in the United States. The incidents have cast a shadow over food safety in China.

Although noraebang saeukkang is manufactured in Busan, the raw materials are from the Qingdao factory. Smaller packs of saeukkang are manufactured in a separate factory, the company said.

The substance was found on Feb. 18 by a woman, whose name was given only as Yu, who purchased the item in North Chungcheong. “At first, I thought it was a burnt piece of saeukkang but then I noticed hair on it. When I looked closely, I saw teeth and an eye. It looked exactly like a rat’s head,” the woman told MBC television.

Responses were posted all over the Internet. “I’m never eating another Nongshim product again,” wrote one Internet user.

“So where is the rest of the body?” asked a user named wldusdl26, whose feelings were echoed in conversations in offices and schools.

Others were more sympathetic. “I’m sure snacks by other companies are the same. Nongshim is getting blamed because they are a big company,” wrote a blogger with the ID Lsminkg1234.

“Although Nongshim made the mistake, China is partly to blame as well. At least Nongshim admitted it was their fault,” wrote another Internet user with the ID dnfl0311.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: china; cracker; nongshim; rathead

The suspected baby rat head

The product in question


1 posted on 03/19/2008 8:37:35 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
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To: TigerLikesRooster

So where is the rest of the body?” asked a user named wldusdl26

GACK!


2 posted on 03/19/2008 8:39:59 AM PDT by AngelesCrestHighway
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To: TigerLikesRooster

Which Democrat was that? Hard to tell from the picture.


3 posted on 03/19/2008 8:40:17 AM PDT by hsalaw
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To: AngelesCrestHighway

So you never heard of animal crackers?


4 posted on 03/19/2008 8:42:27 AM PDT by dblshot
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To: TigerLikesRooster

Yuck-looks like something my cat would cough up.


5 posted on 03/19/2008 8:46:55 AM PDT by Thombo2
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To: AngelesCrestHighway

Like the old joke:

Q: What’s worse than biting into an apple and finding a worm?

A: Biting into an apple and finding half a worm.


6 posted on 03/19/2008 8:49:08 AM PDT by DuncanWaring (The Lord uses the good ones; the bad ones use the Lord.)
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To: TigerLikesRooster

Made in China or Made in Korea - Either way they’ll just pick the mouse parts out and re-bag and resell the product.


7 posted on 03/19/2008 9:02:44 AM PDT by Slump Tester (Only CINOs and democRATs knowingly and willingly vote for RINOs!)
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To: TigerLikesRooster

There they go....copying the prize inside the Cracker Jack box. There’s nothing they won’t try to mimic.


8 posted on 03/19/2008 9:05:14 AM PDT by Attention Surplus Disorder (We've checked, and all your zeroes are OK. We're still working on your ones.)
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To: Attention Surplus Disorder
Maybe they would remarket it as a cat snack.:-)
9 posted on 03/19/2008 9:08:27 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster (kim jong-il, chia head, ppogri, In Grim Reaper we trust)
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To: dblshot

So you never heard of animal crackers?

Animal crackers?....Yes

Rodent crackers?....Not so much


10 posted on 03/19/2008 9:10:39 AM PDT by AngelesCrestHighway
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To: TigerLikesRooster

Actually, I’m thinking it’s a preparatory move towards creating a whole line of food products...talking about “Rat’s Head Beer”...”Rat’s Head Lite”...”Rat’s Head Breakfast Sausages”...”Rat’s Head Sushi”...the ever popular “Rat’s Head Stir-Fry”...and possibly “Rat’s-a-Roni”!


11 posted on 03/19/2008 9:12:35 AM PDT by Attention Surplus Disorder (We've checked, and all your zeroes are OK. We're still working on your ones.)
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To: Attention Surplus Disorder
I doubt that it would sell in S. Korea.
12 posted on 03/19/2008 9:13:53 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster (kim jong-il, chia head, ppogri, In Grim Reaper we trust)
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To: Attention Surplus Disorder

Rat’s-a-Roni, a San Francisco treat!


13 posted on 03/19/2008 9:16:15 AM PDT by 6SJ7
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To: 6SJ7

6SJ7: Glass or metal? (confessing fondness for octal sockets)


14 posted on 03/19/2008 9:20:14 AM PDT by Attention Surplus Disorder (We've checked, and all your zeroes are OK. We're still working on your ones.)
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To: Attention Surplus Disorder
6SJ7: Glass or metal? (confessing fondness for octal sockets)

Glass. Definitely glass.   ;-)

15 posted on 03/19/2008 9:31:26 AM PDT by 6SJ7
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To: 6SJ7

Then why aren’t you 6SJ7G instead of 6SJ7?

Rats? Crackers? When I saw the title, I thought it was about Geraldine Ferraro’s comments about Barack Obama.


16 posted on 03/19/2008 9:46:14 AM PDT by LongTimeMILurker
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To: Duchess47; jahp; LilAngel; metmom; EggsAckley; Battle Axe; SweetCaroline; Grizzled Bear; ...
MADE IN CHINA POTTERY STAMP

(Please FReepmail me if you would like to be on or off of the list.)
17 posted on 03/19/2008 7:36:25 PM PDT by JACKRUSSELL
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To: TigerLikesRooster
Well, of course you're not supposed to find a baby rat head in a bag of shrimp-flavored crackers.

You're supposed to find it in a bag of rat-flavored crackers.

(No! Bad Rich!)
(What'd I say?)

18 posted on 03/19/2008 7:40:00 PM PDT by RichInOC (...William Frank Buckley, Jr., November 24, 1925-February 27, 2008, R.I.P.)
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To: TigerLikesRooster

Clear bags would help.


19 posted on 03/19/2008 7:49:31 PM PDT by metmom (Welfare was never meant to be a career choice.)
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