by Charles Liu
The NanfangToday, 9:13 AM
Guangdong authorities have seized hundreds of tons of unsafe meat destined for Chinese dinner tables.
In all, over 700 tons of tainted meat was seized, including 60 tons of diseased dead pigs, 250 tons of tainted meat products, and 425 tons of frozen meat which is believed to have been smuggled into the country.
The seizures were between April and September this year and were the result of a police investigation targeting unsafe meat. The investigation resulted in the arrest of 378 suspects, more than double the amount the previous year, and came at a time when food safety scandals involving tainted meat have deeply concerned the Chinese public.
In December 2014, twelve vendors were arrested for selling diseased or dead pigs to butchers in Chongqing and nearby territories. In May 2013, three Fujian farmers tasked with destroying diseased pigs were arrested after they were caught selling the carcasses. Last year also saw the arrests of people who had made beef jerky and sausages out of diseased pigs. And in January 2009, eight workers at a butcher shop were arrested for selling diseased meat. Police seized some 4,000 pounds of unsafe pork in the raid.
In a new investigation commenced last month, and expected to run until March of 2016, police are turning their attention to illegal food additives. But despite best efforts by police, they continue to fight a losing battle. Su Shengfeng, chief inspector at the Guangdong Food and Drug Administration, explained why policing unsafe food is so difficult:
People with poor awareness of the law are lured by huge profits to produce, smuggle and sell foods that are of shoddy quality or even pose threats to public health, which is why it is difficult to eradicate food safety crimes. Besides the special crackdowns as deterrents, we increase the cost of breaking the law by putting offenders on a black list and exposing them to the public.
Su added that the government plans to increase rewards for public tip-offs, as it is next to impossible for government agents to discover these secretive operations on their own.
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