South Korean prosecutors have indicted a two-Michelin-star restaurant for serving dishes containing ants not approved for human consumption, after the insects were found to contain heavy metals up to 55 times the permitted limit for edible insects, prosecutors and media reports said.
The Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office on April 29 indicted the restaurant operator and its representative on charges of violating the Food Sanitation Act, according to legal sources.
The restaurant, located in the upscale Gangnam district in Seoul, is accused of making and selling desserts topped with dried ants imported from the United States and Thailand since 2021, generating revenue exceeding 120 million won (about US$87,000) over about four years, according to prosecutors.
The dessert in question, a Korean traditional rice drink sorbet topped with three to five ants, was sold approximately 12,200 times between 2021 and 2025, according to the indictment. Under South Korea's Food Sanitation Act, ants are not on the approved list.
Health authorities found heavy metal levels in the ants as high as 55 times those found in other approved edible insects, according to multiple reports. The restaurant had previously told customers that the ants were collected by the chef from South Korea's Jirisan and Seoraksan mountains, but investigators found the claims to be false, with the ants coming from overseas instead.
During the investigation, the restaurant told prosecutors that the chef, an Australian national who appeared on a popular Netflix cooking show, had used ants for their sour flavor while working in the United States and Europe, and was unaware the practice was illegal in South Korea, reports said.
The restaurant, still in operation, was awarded a second Michelin star this year and holds the distinction of being among the top restaurants in the country. It remains unclear whether health authorities will issue a sales ban or other administrative orders following the probe.
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