On December 4, 2023, the Ministry of Food and Drug of Korea (MFDS) issued a notice that in view of the detection of highly toxic pesticides in betel nut imported from Taiwan, China on December 2, and in view of the reported possibility of causing oral cancer and the detection of highly toxic pesticides, betel nut is listed as a prohibited import of goods, that is, betel nut cannot be imported not only as a Chinese medicine, but also as a food.

For a long time, Korean, Chinese and Japanese food importers of areca nut seeds called "areca nut" are allowed to import and pass pesticide residue inspection when importing and customs clearance of Chinese herbs such as "areca nut," and the toxicity test results of "areca nut" confirm that there is no problem.