Rat Meat Sold as Lamb in Chinese Markets
Sixty-three people have been arrested in connection with the latest in a long line of Chinese food scandals.
Consumers in China have reason to be skeptical of their food as reports have surfaced this week that a criminal ring has been selling rat and fox meat labeled as lamb meat. China’s Ministry of Public Security has investigated 380 cases of food safety and has arrested more than 900 suspects.
Of the hundreds arrested, 63 people were working in Shanghai and another city, Wuxi, buying rat, fox, mink, and other meats, processing the meat with gelatin and selling it as lamb. The meat was then sold in various farmers markets in the Shanghai area.
To counteract the numerous food safety issues facing the country, China’s high courts have called for improved food safety standards and harsher punishments for violators of these guidelines.
One major problem facing China’s food safety industry is the vagueness of the country’s penal code. While unsafe and poisonous food is restricted, the law does not specify what constitutes as violations of these standards