China: Husi re-processed meat 'many months' past expiry date

China has detained five people as part of its probe against Shanghai Husi Food Company, which allegedly supplied out of date meat to fast food chains, including McDonald's and KFC. Husi is one of the biggest meat suppliers in Shanghai and it just happens to be owned by one of the biggest meat processing companies in the world, the US-based OSI group.

An investigation, broadcast by state-run TV, had shown workers mincing up piles of old greying meat and then repackaging it as new. So the authorities moved in, closing down production and sending the workers home.

In the latest development, five staff members, including the company's quality manager, are reported to have been arrested. The most shocking news yet is that the company had working underage people and below China's minimum age for working. Most of the employees said to had been employed by Husi with no questions asked and set to work on grueling 12-hour night shifts.

Amongst the evidence are the interviews to several employees. Wang Fang, a young employee (15) said: "The smell of the pork there was different from the pork we eat at home. I felt more like throwing up when I smelled it," she says. "I thought maybe the smell came from the mass production. I had no idea that they are selling such old meat. I think it's very scary."

Last weekend's TV expose showed a large quantity of veal, seven months past its expiry date, being given a new lease of life, extending the period in which it can be eaten for another year. 

And when Shanghai's food safety inspectors moved in, accompanied by journalists, it seems the managers did have something to hide. "They put away all the meat and things that are on the production line and also cleaned the floor," she says. "After they put our stuff away, we all stood up, so the reporters came in but couldn't see anything."

As a result, McDonalds, KFC and Starbucks, to name just a few of the fast food brands affected, have withdrawn Husi's products from sale. Food scandals are nothing new in China and some have certainly been much more serious than this one.

By Adriana Rueda

Source: BBC News

Image: The wall Street Journal