An inspection of 30 soy sauce products sold online by the Incheon Institute of Public Health and Environment found three products that failed to meet quality standards. 3-MCPD, a substance classified as a possible carcinogen, was not detected in any of the 10 products tested, easing some consumer concern over the safety of food bought online amid the growth of non-face-to-face shopping.
 [코리안투데이] Testing of online-distributed soy sauce products by the Incheon Institute of Public Health and Environment © 장형임 기자 |
The Incheon Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Chan-dae) Institute of Public Health and Environment announced that it collected and inspected 30 soy sauce products sold online between July and September 2026, and found three products to be substandard because their total nitrogen content fell short of the standard.
The inspection was carried out as part of the institute’s ‘Food Safety Net Project’ and targeted online-distributed soy sauces for which substandard cases had been identified the previous year. The aim is to prevent the same violations from recurring and to continuously strengthen the safety management system in step with a distribution environment in which non-face-to-face transactions are increasing.
The inspection covered 30 soy sauce products sold online, comprising 12 traditional Korean-style soy sauces (hansik-ganjang), 8 brewed soy sauces, 9 blended soy sauces, and 1 acid-hydrolyzed soy sauce. The institute tested these products for total nitrogen, six types of preservatives, and 3-MCPD. Total nitrogen refers to the total amount of nitrogen compounds contained in soy sauce and is a key indicator for assessing quality, including savoriness and flavor.
The tests found that three products in total — two Korean-style soy sauces and one blended soy sauce — failed to meet the total nitrogen standard and were judged substandard. In the preservative tests, benzoic acid and parahydroxybenzoic acid were detected in some products, but all were within the limits of the Korean Food Code.
In particular, 3-MCPD, a harmful substance that can form during the acid-hydrolysis process, was not detected in any of the 10 products tested — 9 blended soy sauces and 1 acid-hydrolyzed soy sauce. 3-MCPD is a substance that can form when defatted soybeans and the like are hydrolyzed with hydrochloric acid during acid hydrolysis, and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classifies it as a possible human carcinogen (Group 2B). In Korea, a standard of 0.02 mg/kg is set for acid-hydrolyzed and blended soy sauces.
The institute notified the relevant authorities of the substandard findings so that follow-up measures could be taken. Related information can be found at Food Safety Korea (www.foodsafetykorea.go.kr).
The institute said it plans to continue collecting and testing products in step with the expansion of the online distribution market and changes in consumption patterns, focusing on items with a history of non-compliance or growing consumption, so as to reduce the blind spots in online food safety management. As online purchasing — where products cannot be chosen with one’s own eyes — becomes part of everyday life, such preemptive inspections serve as a safeguard that protects consumer trust in the food placed on the table.
Kim Myeong-hee, director of the city’s Institute of Public Health and Environment, said, ‘As online food consumption grows, preemptive safety management tailored to changes in the distribution environment is important,’ adding, ‘Through the Food Safety Net Project that reflects citizens’ actual consumption, we will continue to block the distribution of substandard food and create a food environment that citizens can trust with peace of mind.’
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