새마을호 열차 식당차 위생엉망 1995.08.08

Search KBS News: [On-Site Investigation 781-1234] Saemaeul Train Dining Car Hygiene is Terrible Anchor Ryu Geun-chan: Befitting its reputation as the best train in Korea, the Saemaeul train dining car is directly operated by the luxury Seoul Plaza Hotel. However, it has been revealed that the prices are ridiculously high, and hygiene management is abysmal. Reporter Park Young-hwan will now expose the problems with this top-class Saemaeul train dining car, which is nothing more than a name. Reporter Park Young-hwan: The Saemaeul train is the pride of Korean railways. As befits its high fare, it is equipped with a wide range of comfortable and pleasant amenities. Among them, its greatest source of pride is the luxury dining car, which is directly operated by the luxury Plaza Hotel. However, if you visit the dining car trusting only its reputation, you are likely to be disappointed. Im Hyeong-seop (Yeonsu-dong, Incheon): It’s a bit difficult to eat. Even the kimchi looks similar to the kind here; it seems like it’s been sitting around for a few days. Looking at it, how can it be served like this when it is operated by such a nice place? Reporter Park Young-hwan: Why is that? The answer becomes clear immediately if you just look at the storage conditions of the lunch boxes. The lunch boxes are stacked in a kitchen filled with sweltering heat. I measured the temperature. It is 25 degrees, the temperature at which food spoils most easily. During the summer months of June to September, they are supposed to be stored at 10 degrees in refrigerators and 60 degrees in warming cabinets. They are even openly selling lunch boxes that do not have expiration dates marked at all. Hotel lunch boxes, which cost three times as much, are actually managed more laxly than the gimbap made by Hongikhoe. Hongikhoe Salesperson: Since we are worried about spoilage in the summer, we have to store them for four hours to ensure the quality of the product, don't we? So, we set the time limit to four hours to maintain the freshness of the product... Reporter Park Young-hwan: Another shocking fact is that a large amount of E. coli was detected in the drinking water provided at the Saemaulho dining hall here. The Seoul Metropolitan Government Institute of Health and Environment also deemed the drinking water, which was commissioned for investigation by the Citizens' Group for the Study of Transportation Issues, unsuitable, stating that E. coli levels were 48 times higher than the standard limit. It was also revealed that other food items contained large amounts of harmful bacteria. Despite this, the Korea Railroad Corporation, which is responsible for supervising the Saemaulho dining cars, is doing nothing. This is Park Young-hwan for KBS News.