It has been found that 103 tons (t) of 'betelnut', which is also called the 'fruit of death' because it causes oral cancer, has been imported into Korea in the past 5 years.



According to the data released today (26th) by Hong Seong-guk of the Democratic Party of Korea belonging to the National Assembly Planning and Finance Committee, received from the Korea Customs Service, the amount of betel nut imported into Korea in the past five years was 103.2 tons.



Betel nut has been used in some Asian countries in the past as a medicine for gastrointestinal diseases and parasites, and has a stimulating effect, so it is chewed like gum.



However, in recent years, China has imposed strong sanctions, such as excluding betel nut from food items and banning online publicity and sales.



It is known that some areas have even taken action to collect the displayed products.



Betel nut contains 'arecholine', which is known to cause oral cancer and cause poisoning and arousal symptoms.



'Arecoline' was also registered as a class 2 carcinogen by the World Health Organization (WHO) International Agency for Research on Cancer in 2004.



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However, in Korea, it has been confirmed that this 'fruit of death' betel nut has been classified as a herbal medicine and has been continuously imported without import clearance restrictions. 



As 'Betel nut (seed)' and 'Daebokki (husk)' extracted from the betel nut fruit were widely distributed as herbal medicines in Korea, 30.3 tons were imported as of the end of August this year, showing an increase compared to last year's total. 



The Korea Customs Service and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, which are responsible departments, have not been able to come up with any measures in spite of being pointed out several times.



The Korea Customs Service is in the position that betel nut is managed as a herbal medicine in accordance with the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act, so no special sanctions can be imposed on import customs if an inspection certificate is obtained. It was confirmed that he did not.



In this regard, Hong pointed out, "The safety assessment was not conducted in the first place, so the risk cannot be guaranteed, and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and the Korea Customs Service are playing a ping-pong game." I did.



(Graphic = provided by Hong Seong-guk's office / Yonhap News)