ISO Says Rules on Pao Cai Do Not Apply to Kimchi
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has refuted some Chinese media outlets' claim that Chinese pao cai has become the international standard for kimchi.
"ISO24220 is about pao cai, and the document clearly says that it does not apply to kimchi," said Sandrin Tranchard, the ISO's public relations officer, in an e-mail interview with a Korean newspaper.
Pao cai is a type of Chinese salted fermented vegetables which is mostly produced in Sichuan province. Last week, the ISO published new rules for the development, transportation and storage of pao cai, noting that they do not apply to kimchi.
However, the state-run Global Times called it “an international standard for the kimchi industry led by China.”
Korean commentators described the report as reflecting China's "kimchi project," a move to make China’s pao cai the origin of kimchi.
Yet the ISO officially said that Chinese pao cai and Korean kimchi are different. The ISO said that it is not currently pushing for the registration of a standard on Korean-style kimchi. The Korean Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said in a statement that international standards for kimchi were agreed by the United Nations in 2001. As kimchi has already been registered in the CODEX, a global food standard, there is no need for Korea to push for the registration of additional standards on kimchi, Korean food experts say,
The kimchi debate is also drawing attention from abroad. British BBC reported the dispute on kimchi between the two neighboring countries. " Kimchi is often served in China under the name pao cai, but China has its own variant of the dish which it also calls pao cai," the BBC report said.
Although the ISO listing on pao cai clearly says "this document does not apply to kimchi," some Chinese media suggested otherwise, the BBC reported. “Due to high demand in the country, South Korea imports large amounts of kimchi from producers in China. Meanwhile, Korean kimchi exports to China are virtually non-existent due to strict Chinese regulations on pickled goods,” it said.