Michelin-starred Seoul restaurant fined for using ants as garnish
The owner of the acclaimed establishment avoids jail but is made to pay 15 million won (£8,144; $10,965).
Michelin-starred Seoul restaurant fined for using ants as garnish
Most of the ants came from the US, with some coming from Thailand
A Seoul restaurant with two Michelin stars has been fined for using ants as a garnish on desserts.
The owner of Evett in the South Korean capital was fined 15 million won (£8,144; $10,965), while the company running the restaurant was fined 10 million won for breaching the Food Sanitation Act, according to local media reports.
Ants are not included among the 10 insect species approved for human consumption in South Korea. The approved list features grasshoppers, locusts and some silkworms.
Prosecutors had asked for a one-year prison sentence for the restaurant owner, along with a 20 million won fine, but the judge took into account the owner’s admission of the charge and lack of any prior criminal record.
However, the judge is reported to have said that, in addition to violating food standards, tests on the ants detected heavy metals above permitted levels, meaning the "culpability is not light".
The owner was said to have been unaware that serving ants in food was banned in South Korea, since they are eaten elsewhere.
Their use as a topping for sorbets at Evett came to light after the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety found online reviews with photographs.
It said the owner had sprinkled three to five ants on certain dishes to give them a "sour taste" over nearly four years, amounting to about 49,000 ants used as garnish.
Most of the ants were imported from the US, while some came from Thailand, the ministry said.
The owner argued that they were used in a "small part" of the restaurant’s 15-course menu and that diners were told they could choose a non-ant alternative topping.
Ants are eaten and sometimes prized as a delicacy in several Asian, African and Latin American cultures. Weaver ants and their eggs are used in Thai and Cambodian cooking, while in Colombia queen ants are valued as highly as caviar.
The Michelin Guide defines a two-star restaurant as one that does "excellent cooking" and is "worth a detour".