Fuyang police punish companies involved in food preparation malpractice

Police in Fuyang, Anhui province, said they had moved to detain those who allegedly used pork filled with lymphoid tissues to produce semi-prepared food shortly after a media exposure late on Friday.

The three companies involved were shut down with their products confiscated, authorities said.

The influential annual 315 Gala held by China Central Television, which was held to mark World Consumer Rights Day on March 15, reported on Friday that workers at a pork wholesale market in Fuyang had used meat from pig neck — an area with glands, lipoma and thyroid — to make a traditional Chinese dish that consists of pork belly and preserved mustard greens to expand profit margin.

The wholesale price for pork belly is about 24 yuan ($3.34) each kilogram, four times that of meats from pig neck, CCTV said, adding that meat from a pig neck are required to be removed according to Chinese rules, but using them is found in Fuyang's sprawling semi-prepared food industry.

Footage displayed at the gala showed that workers at a local food business stacked frozen pork in open air, some without packaging. Inside the workshop, workers put sliced pork and preserved mustard greens into cans to be sealed and shipped to market.

A person in charge said their business has flourished due to growing appetite for semi-marinated food, which is ready for consumption after simple cooking.