China arrests 900 in fake meat scandal

[dipsydoodle]

Source: Guardian

Police in China have arrested 904 people for "meat-related offences" over the past three months, including a gang that made more than £1m by passing off fox, mink and rat meat as mutton, the country's public security ministry has announced.

Since January, authorities have seized 20,000 tonnes of illegal products and solved 382 cases of meat-related crime – primarily the sale of toxic, diseased and counterfeit meat.

One suspect, named Wei, earned more than £1m over the past four years by purchasing fox, mink and rat meat, treating it with gelatin, carmine (a colour produced from ground beetles) and nitrate, then selling it as mutton at farmers' markets in Jiangsu province and Shanghai. Authorities raided Wei's organisation in February, arresting 63 suspects and seizing 10 tonnes of meat and additives.

Suspects in the Baotou city produced fake beef and lamb jerky from duck meat and sold it to markets in 15 provinces. Levels of E coli in the counterfeit product "seriously exceeded standards", the ministry said.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/03/china-arrests-fake-meat-scandal

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Reminds me of Baldrick's rat au van

[House of Roberts]

1. Rec for Baldrick!

[darkangel218]

2. Geez! what else is fake in China!

[Bonobo]

3. Glad you asked. Fake plastic eggs.

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=55f_1352418855

[Snarkoleptic]

4. "meat-related offences"

Makes me wonder what takes place here when USDA inspectors aren't watching. Rather troubling to think about how photographing at US meat packing plants is now a crime.

[closeupready]

5. Is that true, it's a crime to do that? How can that withstand

a challenge on 1st Amendment grounds?

I mean, I know we in the US don't have any real journalists anymore, but there was a time when the Walter Cronkite's and Edward Murrow's in the media would have photographed just to be arrested so as to mount a court challenge. I guess I answered my own question, but it's sad.

[Snarkoleptic]

9. Looks like I was a bit premature...these are pending bills to undercut whistleblowers.

Here's a substantial DU thread on the subject-
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014427876

[freshwest]

10. Based on libertarian ideas of private property and contracts, ain't got no stinkin' first amendment!

Because all employers and all businesses operate within their enlightened self-interest magic?

Thus you shouldn't trespass or break your word to the boss to get evidence for the public to know what they're buying, as that would be theft of their stuff.

That's the end result of their marvelous laissez-faire model of running the country.

[IthinkThereforeIAM]

6. My dad is a retired USDA Inspector-In-Charge...

... and it is a constant, "game", with the processing supervisors, who will toss in more fat, unallowable trim and water into processed meats and hams if they think they can get away with it. Have to watch them at all times and carry a calculator to make sure the formulas are adhered to and that the right percentages of fat and water, as allowed, are used. He was an inspector for nearly 30 years at one of Smithfield's biggest processing plants.

[XemaSab]

7. I don't eat critters

but there's a slight difference between throwing in more pig fat and taking waste carcasses from the fur industry and selling them as lamb.

[uppityperson]

8. Shades of Discworld.

[Hekate]

11. Rat-onna-stick. I'm sure the vendor was cutting his own throat with the low prices.

[loli phabay]

12. cant believe no one noticed rat and lamb taste different and have different textures.

[Quantess]

13. They should have just been honest about it being rat, fox, or mink

and advertised it as being super nutritious instead. Start a new meat campaign.

[Franker65]

14. Disgusting but not uncommon

I really thought that the horse meat scandal in Europe was bad. Somehow, eating horse seems less bad than eating mink, rat or whatever else was in that Chinese food. Point is that civilised countries need more control and inspections to ensure food is not contaminated, especially when you look at statistics on the largest food markets like the United States and China. I guess the larger the market, the more that can go wrong, but there should be no excuses. At least China has done something about it, arresting those responsible. We have not seen enough arrests due to the European horse meat scandal.