Prosecutors in South Korea have requested a one-year prison sentence for the owner of a Michelin-starred restaurant in Seoul’s Gangnam district. The restaurant, which holds two Michelin stars, is accused of serving a dessert topped with ants, an insect not approved for consumption under local food safety law.
The request, made on Monday, also seeks a 20m won fine for the company that runs the restaurant. The restaurant’s owner and the company were indicted on charges of violating the country’s food sanitation act. The investigation was launched by the ministry of food and drug safety after spotting mentions of the ant dishes in blog posts and social media.
The restaurant is reported to have served a sorbet dessert sprinkled with ants for customers who wanted the flavor. However, under South Korean law, only 10 insect species, including grasshoppers, mealworms, and silkworm pupae, are approved for use as food ingredients. Ants are not among them, and businesses wishing to use an unapproved insect must first obtain temporary approval.
Prosecutors allege that the restaurant imported dried ants from the US and Thailand from 2021 and served them on dishes for around four years, selling the ant-topped dessert roughly 12,200 times for total revenue of about 120m won. The restaurant disputes this figure, arguing that only about 60% of customers accepted the ant topping when offered.
The restaurant’s chef had used ants to add acidity to dishes while working in the US and Europe, and had not realized that doing so was illegal in South Korea. The restaurant also noted that restaurants in countries including Denmark, the UK, and Australia use ants as an ingredient.
Sentencing is scheduled for 2 September.
