No cheap acid used in aged vinegar

BEIJING - A food-quality watchdog on Sunday dismissed claims that 95 percent of "Shanxi aged vinegar" is blended with a cheap acid that speeds up the brewing process.

The vinegar is famous for the time it takes to produce, usually at least one year. Yet, Wang Jianzhong, vice-chairman of the Shanxi Vinegar Industry Association, said recently that many producers cheat by adding glacial acetic acid, which reduces the fermenting time to just one month.

However, an official notice from the provincial food quality supervision and inspection center and comments by Wang's superior rebutted the claim.