Pork processing in Beijing (AFP/Getty Images)
Since water-logged meat facilitates the growth of bacteria, atropine, alum solution, bittern, preservatives, and industrial coloring, may be added to keep the meat from putrefying.
According to a report by the Nanfang Weekend newspaper, principal engineer Feng Ping, China Meat Research, said that water-soaked meat is far more harmful than the recent scare in Guangzhou caused by “lean pork powder,” which poisoned 70 people.
The issue of high water content in meats was first reported in 1985 in Guangzhou. It is so common that consumers no longer bother reporting it. The main methods merchants use to adulterate the meat are forcing pigs or cattle to drink a lot of water prior to butchering them, or soaking the cut meat in water.
In 1997, the Guangzhou city government closed the small slaughterhouses. Only three were allowed to remain in operation. Even so, illegally butchered or adulterated meat was still found on the market.
There has been a recent surge in the number of reports of water-soaked meat. In January 2009, the media reported on this problem in Guangzhou and Tianjin meat markets. According to Mr. Feng, in a large city in northeastern China, 48 butcher shops were inspected, and all of them had water in the meat.
Although adulterating pork is not uncommon, the problem is even more prevalent in beef. According to Professor Ge Changrong, Yunnan Agricultural University and a regent with the China Livestock and Veterinarians Association, almost all beef products on the market have been soaked in water. He is in frequent contact with meat merchants and said that the practice affects pricing: meat without water costs 50 yuan/kg, while meat soaked in water is only 30 yuan/kg.
According to a January 12 Chongqing Evening News report, almost all meat products in Chongqing have been soaked in water except for those consumed by the staff of the slaughterhouses.
An inspection conducted in December 2008 by the Ningbo Industry and Commerce Agency revealed that more than half of the beef products had high water content. The inspection was done in nine supermarkets in Ningbo.
Industry insiders say that the prevalence of the problem is a direct result of a long-term lack of oversight. Wang Xumao, Deputy Director of the China Comprehensive Research Institute on Meat Products, said, “The more agencies that are in charge of it, the more loopholes there are. In the United States and Japan, there is just one federal agency in charge of meat products. The agency is solely responsible for the quality.”
