Avoiding Product Substitution Continues to Happen
“It’s ridiculous, I can only laugh”
A consumer at a fish market in Incheon claimed to have purchased live blue crabs, only to have them replaced with dead, legless crabs at home, sparking controversy.
On Nov. 21, a post and photo titled “Review of purchasing live blue crabs” was posted on the online community BoBaeDream. The author of the post, who identified herself as living in Incheon, said, “I bought a few crabs while I was there and thought I should boil them for my children, so I bought live crabs,” adding, “When I got home and checked, the condition was the same as the photo.” She added a photo.
On the online community Treasure Dream, a post titled ‘Review of purchasing blue crabs from Ttangtangpo’ was posted on the 21st. In the photo posted by Mr. A, all nine dead hermit crabs have lost one leg each, or only one leg remains.[Photo source=Online community ‘Bobae Dream’]
In the photo shared by Mr. A, each of the nine dead hermit crabs had one leg missing or only one leg remaining. Mr. A expressed his frustration, saying, “The crabs lose their legs about an hour after they are put in the ice.” He added, “For reference, there are no legs in the ice box.” “I don’t have a picture of the other box, but it’s no different. It just makes me laugh,” he added.
Mr. A said that he usually uses a ping-pong table instead. “I wanted to see what the wind was like today, and I thought it might have changed,” he said of his visit.
“The grilled fish at the entrance was better in price, composition, and taste compared to other areas, so I was proud that Ttangtang Pogu had finally changed,” he said, but he explained that he wanted to “reduce the damage by spreading the word” after being replaced by a dead crab with no legs.
On the 21st, an article and photo titled “Review of purchasing blue crabs from Ttangtangpo” were posted on the online community ‘Bobae Dream’.
“It’s ridiculous, I can only laugh,” “If you’re going to eat it in a package or a store, you should watch the packaging or preparation process after choosing the seafood,” “It’s a more evil trick than cheating on the scale,” “It’s not just about avoiding the scale,” “Did you cut off your legs so that you can’t escape because you’re a rice thief?” and other reactions.
‘Product swapping’ complaints continue despite self-awareness
In March, a controversy erupted at a public seafood wholesale market in Daejeon after a customer alleged that a vendor arbitrarily switched the snow crab she had selected. Photo not related to the specific content of the article. [Photo source=Yonhap]
There has been a steady stream of complaints about product tampering and exorbitant charges for seafood products, and while merchants have been speaking out, the damage 안전놀이터continues to be done.
In March, a public seafood wholesale market in Daejeon sparked controversy after a customer alleged that a vendor arbitrarily switched the snow crab she had selected. One of the two snow crabs selected by the customer had eight legs, but the steamed snow crab was a different one with 10 legs.
The vendor explained that he tried to fill the missing legs with frozen snow crabs, but they were not in good condition, so he switched to live snow crabs. The city of Daejeon responded to the complaints by stating that it would suspend the business of any vendor who switches seafood or tampered with scales.
Last year, Boryeong City, Chungcheongnam-do, made a concerted effort to attract tourists by declaring 2022 Boryeong Visit Year ahead of the 2022 Boryeong Marine Mud Expo, but some vendors were criticized for fraud and product substitution.