Korea Food and Drug Administration on Thursday ordered a recall of instant noodles found to contain benzopyrene, a substance classified as a carcinogen.

The decision comes four months after the food inspection agency found an excess amount of benzopyrene in the powdered soup seasoning in six of Nongshim’s ramyeon brands.

The list of brands that contain the toxic substance includes Nongshim’s Neoguri, Saewootang Keun Sabalmyeon and Saeng Saeng Woodong. Nongshim, the country’s largest instant noodle maker, said it will follow the recall order.

Health officials said they will look into other products that used the same ingredients.

“We will recall not only Nongshim’s noodles found to have benzopyrene but also other products that contain prohibited ingredients,” said an official at KFDA.

In June, food inspectors found a maximum of 4.7 parts per billion of benzopyrene in Nongshim’s instant noodle products. The carcinogen substance came from dried bonito added to the soup, officials said.

The food inspection agency did not issue a recall order at that time, saying that the amount of the toxic substance was harmless to humans. Also, it didn’t reveal the report to the public.

Nongshim said it discarded the problematic ingredients but didn’t take any self-disciplinary measures such as recalling noodles that are already on sale in markets.

By Cho Chung-un (christory@heraldcorp.com)