South Korea-Junk food and the meat trade.

SOUTH KOREA-JUNK FOOD.

Hamburgers will not be blacklisted as junk food which will be banned from being sold in schools from later this month - for now.

The Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development said Tuesday that sales of hamburgers, sandwiches and seaweed rolls (gimbap) will not be prohibited for the time being.

A public notice about a revision of the Hygiene Law - which makes it compulsory for food makers to specify nutritional contents of their foodstuffs - was released by ministry. But the new measure will not be effective until August, earning hamburgers a four-month reprieve.

There could even be a further delay due to a lack of coordination between the ministry and the Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA).

"The KFDA didn’t make a request to revise the rule," a ministry official said. "Even though hamburgers are not subject to nutrition labeling now, they will be included in the list after the KFDA finishes its tests and publicizes a new list of highcalorie, low-nutrition foods."

However, the food agency is playing a different tune, saying that it has no immediate plan to investigate nutritional contents of hamburgers and other items.

"We could do it with requests from customers, but we have not been asked," a KFDA spokesperson said on condition of anonymity.

With children’s health problems, including obesity, emerging as a social issue, calls have been growing for the ban of sales of "unhealthy" foods in schools.

Earlier this month, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said it will ban sales of coffee, instant noodles, fried foods and fizzy drinks in city schools from the spring semester.

Additionally, the National Assembly passed a bill last month prohibiting junk food sales in the vicinity of schools from next year. The action came after a 2006 warning from the Commission on Youth Protection that these nutritionally unbalanced foods may cause serious disorder to children’s health.