SerpApi.Org
The owner of a Michelin-starred restaurant in South Korea is facing imprisonment for serving sorbet topped with ants.
The restaurant, in the upmarket district of Gangnam in Seoul, imported about 49,000 dried black ants and used them as a garnish on desserts over almost four years, prosecutors said.
The owner has been fined 20 million Korean won (£10,100) and faces up to a year in prison for violating local food safety laws.
The insects, banned under South Korea’s Food Sanitation Act, were imported from the US and Thailand to add a “sour taste” to dishes.
The owner of the two-Michelin-starred restaurant admitted serving the dishes, but argued they were a “small part” of its 15-course menu, as a topping for sorbets, and that only 60 per cent of diners opted to try the topping.
However, authorities found the ants had been served 12,200 times over a four-year period, generating revenue of 120 million won (£60,645). Prosecutors estimated about 49,000 ants were used in total.
The case was discovered after officials from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety found online reviews of dishes sprinkled with ants.
The ants “contained up to 55 times more heavy metals than typical edible insects”, according to the Chosun Daily, a local news site.
Under South Korean law, 10 species of insects, including grasshoppers and mealworms, are approved for human consumption.
Other countries, including Australia, Denmark and the UK, permit the use of ants as ingredients. The insects are often eaten in several Asian, African and Latin American cultures.
Prosecutors heard that the restaurant’s head chef was accustomed to the practice of using ants to add acidity to dishes while working in the US and Europe, and was unaware of the differences in the South Korean health code.
Court documents did not name the restaurant or its owner. Ten restaurants in Seoul have been awarded two Michelin stars.
The restaurant owner will appear in court for sentencing on September 2.
