The move came as excessive use of antibiotics in feeding can help bacteria develop resistance, threatening the health of people who then eat the food, the Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) said.

"Steady use of even a small amount of antibiotics for animals causes side effects that help bacteria develop resistance, without killing them," a KFDA official said. "But of course, we will allow antibiotics for medical treatment."

According to The Korea Times, the authorities made public seven blacklisted classes of antibiotics to be banned.

KFDA research in 2006 showed some 40 per cent of sampled meats tested positive for antibiotic-resistance.

KFDA took samples from 157 pieces of beef and chicken, 35 pieces of fish and 78 pieces of processed food to check bacterial-resistance of 15 different classes of antibiotics.

Results showed that roughly 40 per cent of bacteria showed resistance to antibiotics - 10 to 20 per cent higher than the standards of other countries.