NYC Health Department Cracking Down On Kimchi

Sweet, sweet kimchi (Wikipedia)

Health inspectors are putting the kibosh on kimchi, the fermented cabbage dish that's a staple of Korean cuisine, because they "don't understand what it is," say many Korean restaurant owners. Someone take the Health Department out for a night of grill-it-yourself Korean BBQ and soju-fueled karaoke, STAT!

The gist of the issue is that kimchi is usually left at room temperature, meaning it's above the DOH's 41-degree temperature requirement for cold foods. Inspectors have been violating and fining Korean restaurants across the city, which owners say is unfair, because kimchi has an acidity level below 4.6, meaning it's not hazardous. One health commissioner said he's willing to let kimchi slide if restaurant owners can prove it's acidity is below 4.6, but owners say they don't have the time or means to test every batch.

"Traditionally-prepared kimchi has been a staple of Korean food for thousands of years and has proven to have many health benefits. By fining restaurants for the way kimchi—and other fermented foods—are prepared, the Health Department is essentially forcing us to dissolve an ancient practice that is at the core of Korean cuisine," said Ja-Boon Kwak, owner of Kang Suh restaurant in Koreatown. Chinese restaurants with hanging ducks and pizza parlors with slice displays have been subject to similar fines from the DOH, who might be a little too obsessed with the "danger zone" (this one, not this one).

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jamie Feldmar in Food on December 20, 2011 10:16 AM

Comments [rss]

dopamine_junkie

The DOH is cracking down not only on kimchi, but on cheeses, meats and sushi chefs. Technically ordering a steak medium rare is a health code violation, as is asking for brie at room temperature. Read more on how restaurant DOH letter grades make your food worse: http://dopaminejunkie.blogspot...

Dollie

@whitecastlerock:disqus .........my neighbor's step-sister makes $79 every hour on the internet. She has been out of a job for 9 months but last month her pay was $8718 just working on the internet for a few hours. Read more on this web site http://nutshellurl.com/22i5

Lust Demented

lucky I get mine homemade

Midnight Fapper

fuck you doh, no, really, fuck you. don't mess with my kimchi.

thousands of years of tradition > your stupid bureaucracy.

Ally Brown

It makes me so happy to see an entire comment board on Gothamist with people all basically agreeing on something...
Kimchi unites us all!

Catherine Jung

Let's go power-tripping by racializing all Asian cuisines and fining the shit out of them for having strange food like duck and kimchee! Whoo!

Will Brand

you forgot pizza. they mentioned pizza.

i think maybe it slipped your mind because it didn't fit your idea that the department of health is, for some reason, a racist institution

Leena Day

I do think there is some racialized thinking going on when it concerns foods that are significantly non-Western, though.

Catherine Jung

Touche, you called me out. I apologize.

callmeL

New York City restaurant inspectors should get more tips from the Los Angeles restaurant inspectors -- Angelinos have been doing it for much longer!

(Why it took over 10+ years to get a restaurant grading system in New York I have no idea...)

I cannot picture this happening in Los Angeles, with their awesome K-town, and Korean Cuisine.

So what's kimchi? It's pickled, fermented cabbage.

What about all of the salads and pickles at kosher delis across this city? Maybe DOH can place the standards they have on kimchi on "salads" too.

gambalore

Don't assume so much about LA and their relationship with Korean restaurants. Some Angelino supposedly got sick from undercooked meat at a table BBQ place recently because they were impatient and didn't wait for the meat to finish cooking. After that, all of the Korean BBQ places had to start bringing the meat to the table pre-cooked and just warming it up on the grill, which defeats the purpose in a number of regards.

callmeL

In this case I think it was the dumb Angelino that didn't cook their meat properly - or a lack of a hearty stomach that can tolerate rare meat. That is by no means the fault of a Korean resto.

gambalore

It's most certainly not their fault, but it's another case of Korean restaurants being cracked down on for standard business practices.

Sinchy

"if restaurant owners can prove it's acidity is below 4.6, but owners say they don't have the time or means to test every batch."Wouldn't a simple strip of litmus paper prove the PH? Doesn't seem like too much of a hardship to prove that to an inspector, but then again...