Top hotel has beef over old ham
By Zhang Xuanchen |
May 27, 2011, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
A LEADING Chinese meat processor denied it had ever used recycled meat in its ham after a five-star hotel claimed it found old packaging material in the product.
China Yurun Food Group Ltd said a rare malfunction in its mechanized packaging process was to blame for the incident in which plastic film and metal buckles were found in the ham purchased by the hotel in Hefei City, capital of east China's Anhui Province, according to an official statement quoted by Xinhua news agency yesterday.
The company said it had suspended a flawed assembly line of its subsidiary, Ma'anshan Yurun Food Co Ltd, which produced the ham, and started a recall of products of the same batch.
Executives and workers involved in the incident will be suspended from posts after an investigation has been completed, the company said.
But its statement contradicted allegations by Li Chenglin, the hotel's chef, and some food industry analysts that the material had been used previously and mixed with the ham before the new batch was packaged.
Li accused the company of unwrapping expired ham, mixing it with fresh meat and relabeling it as new.
A food industry insider surnamed Huang supported Li, saying the company might have failed to remove the used packaging before throwing old ham into the mixer.
According to the hotel, a general manager of Ma'anshan Yurun Food Co Ltd later apologized and offered to pay compensation of 5,000 yuan (US$770), and products of equivalent value to the hotel on May 22.
Earlier, two regional managers had offered to pay 2,000 yuan compensation or products of equivalent value, an offer the hotel declined.
The hotel's sourcing manager, surnamed Hu, said the hotel had been buying meat products from Yurun Food for years and had strong trust in their quality.
"It is really disappointing," Hu said, referring to the packaging incident.
The story again triggered concerns over China's food quality, and especially its meat industry.
In March, a banned additive was found in frozen meat from a subsidiary of the Shuanghui Group, a major rival of Yurun Food. Clenbuterol, a chemical that can boost lean meat, was found in products from the Jiyuan Shuanghui Food Co Ltd in Henan Province.
China Yurun Food Group Ltd said a rare malfunction in its mechanized packaging process was to blame for the incident in which plastic film and metal buckles were found in the ham purchased by the hotel in Hefei City, capital of east China's Anhui Province, according to an official statement quoted by Xinhua news agency yesterday.
The company said it had suspended a flawed assembly line of its subsidiary, Ma'anshan Yurun Food Co Ltd, which produced the ham, and started a recall of products of the same batch.
Executives and workers involved in the incident will be suspended from posts after an investigation has been completed, the company said.
But its statement contradicted allegations by Li Chenglin, the hotel's chef, and some food industry analysts that the material had been used previously and mixed with the ham before the new batch was packaged.
Li accused the company of unwrapping expired ham, mixing it with fresh meat and relabeling it as new.
A food industry insider surnamed Huang supported Li, saying the company might have failed to remove the used packaging before throwing old ham into the mixer.
According to the hotel, a general manager of Ma'anshan Yurun Food Co Ltd later apologized and offered to pay compensation of 5,000 yuan (US$770), and products of equivalent value to the hotel on May 22.
Earlier, two regional managers had offered to pay 2,000 yuan compensation or products of equivalent value, an offer the hotel declined.
The hotel's sourcing manager, surnamed Hu, said the hotel had been buying meat products from Yurun Food for years and had strong trust in their quality.
"It is really disappointing," Hu said, referring to the packaging incident.
The story again triggered concerns over China's food quality, and especially its meat industry.
In March, a banned additive was found in frozen meat from a subsidiary of the Shuanghui Group, a major rival of Yurun Food. Clenbuterol, a chemical that can boost lean meat, was found in products from the Jiyuan Shuanghui Food Co Ltd in Henan Province.
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