The owner of a Michelin two-star restaurant in South Korea is facing a year in prison for serving a dessert topped with black ants.
Prosecutors say a palate-cleansing sorbet topped with three to five black ants was sold more than 12,200 times by the Seoul restaurant, despite the insects not being approved for human consumption in the country.
The restaurant operator is charged with violating South Korea’s Food Sanitation Act by importing dried ants from the U.S. and Thailand and using them as a garnish on a dish over a four-year period, according to newspaper JoogAng Daily.
Prosecutors said the desert was sold more than 12,200 times, generating about 120 million won ($81,000) in revenue. They estimate that around 49,000 ants were served to diners.
During a hearing at Seoul Western District Court on Monday, prosecutors said they were seeking a fine of 20 million won (about $13,500) against the company that operates the restaurant.
South Korean law permits 10 insect species for human consumption, including grasshoppers and mealworm larvae. Ants are not among the approved species.
Food safety officials began an investigation into the restaurant after seeing photos and descriptions of the ant desert on blogs and social media.
Health authorities said the ants contained concentrations of heavy metals significantly higher than those typically found in edible insects approved for human consumption.
The restaurant owner admitted to most of the charges, but disputed the prosecution’s estimate of the number of ants served.
The restaurateur's defence added that the ants represented a small part of a 15-course tasting menu and noted that restaurants in countries including Denmark, Britain, and Australia use ants in fine dining.
The court is expected to deliver its verdict on 2 September.
A building at Saudi Aramco’s headquarters in ...
Russian strikes killed ...
A former Ukrainian military officer has gone on trial in Germany, accused of orchestrating the 2022 Nord Stream pipeline explosions that disrupted ...
One person was killed and nearly a dozen hurt in a fresh attack on Riyadh's international airport on Sunday, Saudi authorities reported, a day after a strike claimed by Yemen's Houthis killed 13 people and wounded more than 300.
The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said late Monday that it intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles launched by the Houthi group toward Khamis Mushait in southwestern Saudi Arabia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russia hit at least six energy targets in deadly strikes across Ukraine, showing Moscow is unwilling to accept the energy ceasefire announced by U.S. President Donald Trump.
The Kremlin on Monday rejected a 60-day ceasefire idea proposed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to allow his country to hold presidential elections, saying it wanted an overall peace deal instead.
A building at Saudi Aramco’s headquarters in the eastern city of Dhahran was attacked late Tuesday, causing a limited fire, Saudi Arabia’s Energy Ministry said on Wednesday. The incident came as fighting between the kingdom and Yemen’s Iran-allied Houthi group intensify.
Russian strikes killed three people in Kyiv and plunged hundreds of thousands into darkness overnight, authorities said on Wednesday, in an attack President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called “ostentatious disrespect” to Donald Trump's peace effort.
A former Ukrainian military officer has gone on trial in Germany, accused of orchestrating the 2022 Nord Stream pipeline explosions that disrupted a major route for Russian gas supplies to Europe.
Argentina has asked the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, a judicial body which settles maritime disputes, to halt British-authorised oil activity near the Falkland Islands, escalating a sovereignty dispute over the archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean.
Cornell University has prohibited parties and social gatherings at fraternity houses for the remainder of the academic year following allegations of a gang rape in 2024, as criticism mounts over the institution’s handling of the case.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will depart on Saturday (17 October) on a five-day trip to India and Uzbekistan, the State Department said, adding that he will discuss energy cooperation in India.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment