Vendors accused of making false claims about their beef
Print Edition
VENDORS of “imported” beef at the Tongchuan Road wholesale market are being investigated by the local food safety authority after failing to provide proof of the meat’s origins.
The Shanghai Food Safety Office said yesterday it has sent officials to assess the products on sale and will release its findings to the public soon.
China allows the import of beef from the United States, Canada, New Zealand and some European countries, said Gu Zhenhua, deputy director of the office. All legally imported beef products are issued with a certificate by the exit-entry inspection and quarantine bureau, he said.
Similarly, beef produced in China must pass a quality check and be officially documented before it can be legally sold in Shanghai. Most of the beef eaten in Shanghai comes from outside the city.
The official probe was launched after the Shanghai Morning Post investigated the claims of one of its readers that fake imported beef was on sale at the Tongchuan Road wholesale market, which is best known for its seafood products.
Poor quality
The newspaper said a local resident surnamed Li complained to a vendor at the market after being disappointed with the quality of the beef he had bought there. Despite saying the meat was imported from the US, the vendor was unable to provide any evidence to support the claim.
The newspaper’s investigation found several other vendors were unable to prove the authenticity of their “imported” beef.
When buying beef described as imported, customers should ask to see documentation proving its place of origin, officials said.
In the past, some meat vendors have tried to pass off locally produced beef as imported so they can charge a higher price, while others have attempted to sell unlicensed products in the city.
“Customers should be aware of what they are buying,” Gu said.
“For example, Kobe beef, which is known for its delicate taste, is unavailable in China as the country does not allow the import of beef from Japan. So if a restaurant claims to offer Kobe beef, customers can be sure it is either fake or has been smuggled into the country,” he said.
Between 2005 and 2012, Shanghai port officials detected 80 cases of beef being smuggled into the country from Japan. Smugglers sometimes even cover the beef in coffee in an attempt to put sniffer dogs off the scent.
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