A nationwide television investigative report into tainted meat has had Nanjing authorities scrambling to take action to assess the situation and convince the public that locally-bought meat products are safe for consumption.
On 15 March was aired the CCTV report into the proliferation of leanness-enhancing agents in meat for sale in China, particularly mutton. The meat in question is tainted with clenbuterol and has been traced to Cangzhou City of Hebei Province.
For the CCTV exposé, reporters gained the trust of shepherds, feed traders, mutton brokers and slaughterhouse employees in Cangzhou. Key confessions from the front line of animal husbandry were broadcast on Monday evening.
“The sheep raising here is not good, they are all fed with clenbuterol”, said one during the programme.
As a result, in order to allay public concern, inspection officers have been visiting retailers across Nanjing. A total of 1,082 agents have inspected 365 wholesale markets and 1,356 retail units, reports Nanjing Daily.
In Nanjing, nine retail units were found to be selling mutton and other meat products from Cangzhou. Authorities ordered the merchants to remove the products from the shelves and seal them for the relevant testing. In the 388 batches of three different meat types, weighing in at 320.8 kilograms, tests for clenbuterol were negative.
Clenbuterol is found in a group of compounds called β-agonists, also known as leanness-enhancing agents. When used inappropriately in livestock, β-agonists can leave residues at levels that cause acute poisoning in humans. Symptoms include a rapid heart beat, dizziness, headaches, nervousness, tremors and swings in blood pressure.
While no trace of tainted meat has to date been found, there is still every reason to keep up our guard. On 16 March, during a surprise mutton raid at a Nanjing market, some merchants were unable to produce quarantine certificates. Again, no clenbuterol was detected.
Nanjing however, has in place, a rapid-inspection facility for exactly this kind of outbreak. In the third quarter of last year, members of the public requested testing on more than 4,700 batches of suspicious food.
In light of the threat posed by clenbuterol, Nanjing’s market supervision department is comprehensively strengthening its supervision and inspection. The source of all incoming goods must be known, and processes for storage and catering be strictly controlled.
The public are reminded to be careful purchasing meat; mutton tainted with clenbuterol will be a darker red than normal.
