Police raided the headquarters of Namyang Dairy Products Company, which faces a complaint from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety after claiming its yogurt is effective in suppressing COVID-19.
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said Friday that it sent 30 investigators to the company’s headquarters in Gangnam district as well as five other facilities at around 9:30 a.m.
The raid comes after the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety filed a complaint against Namyang with the police on April 15, saying the company violated the Act on the Labeling and Advertising of Food.
Namyang had distributed promotional material on April 9 stating that its “Bulgaris” yogurt was effective in suppressing COVID-19. At a symposium four days later, it announced the alleged antiviral effect, claiming its yogurt was the first such product in the country to have the feature.
The food ministry believes this announcement could be in violation of the Act on the Labeling and Advertising of Food as it was aimed at promoting a product and had not completed the rigorous testing that usually precedes such a claim.