South Korea Detects Ethoxyquin in Frozen Large Yellow Croaker from Fujian Marine Silk Road Fishery at 3.4 Times the Limit!

Non-compliant imported food information published by South Korea's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) on November 2, 2026, shows that a batch of frozen large yellow croaker exported to South Korea by FUJIAN PROVINCE MARINE SILK ROAD FISHERY CO., LTD. was found to contain ethoxyquin residue at 3.4 mg/kg, exceeding South Korea's residue limit of 1.0 mg/kg, with the actual detected value reaching 3.4 times the limit standard.

South Korean official records label the product as Frozen Large Yellow Croaker, with China as the country of origin and the company concerned as FUJIAN PROVINCE MARINE SILK ROAD FISHERY CO., LTD. The non-compliance date for this batch is October 30, 2026, and the production date in the records is August 15, 2026. November 2 is the date the notification was published, while October 30 is the date corresponding to the non-compliance record; the two must not be confused.

The non-compliant item this time is ethoxyquin. Test results published by South Korea's MFDS show that the substance was detected at a concentration of 3.4 mg/kg, higher than the 1.0 mg/kg residue limit, exceeding the standard by 2.4 mg/kg. This is a clear record of residue exceeding the limit, not merely a listing on a risk list due to issues with company qualifications or processing management.

Ethoxyquin is a chemical substance with antioxidant effects, formerly used for antioxidant treatment of feed and related products. Its residues in aquatic products are subject to food safety regulations. For farmed fish, the management of feed ingredients, feed additives and related inputs during the farming process can all be important links in residue control.

It should be noted that what South Korea notified this time is ethoxyquin residue exceeding the limit, not antibiotics or common veterinary drug residues. It cannot be conflated with issues involving antibacterial drugs such as ciprofloxacin and enrofloxacin. The uses, sources of residues and regulatory standards of different substances are not the same.

South Korean official records provide the detected concentration and the applicable limit, but do not disclose the import quantity, value, or specific testing laboratory of this shipment, nor do they publish the company's subsequent handling results for this batch of products. After imported food fails inspection in South Korea, the goods concerned may face return or destruction, and the specific handling remains subject to subsequent records of the regulatory authorities.

Public company information for FUJIAN PROVINCE MARINE SILK ROAD FISHERY CO., LTD. shows that its business covers aquatic product processing, cold storage, purchasing, transportation and sales, as well as aquaculture and fishing. The South Korean notification this time concerns one batch of frozen large yellow croaker from the company; it cannot be concluded on this basis that all of the company's products have ethoxyquin residue problems, nor can it be inferred that similar products in other export markets fail to meet standards.

For farming and processing enterprises, such residue problems need to be traced back to raw materials and the production process. Feed and raw material sources, input use records, farming batch management and finished product test results all need to correspond with one another. Finished product factory testing alone may not fully explain the source of the residual substance.

This incident also needs to be distinguished from other regulatory records previously involving the company. Different countries, different batches and different test items should be checked separately, and historical issues cannot be merged with this ethoxyquin exceedance into a single test conclusion for the same batch of goods.