Fake pork luncheon meat alert
Diners were warned to be wary of cheap pork luncheon meat yesterday after a forgery syndicate was uncovered by Customs officers.
About 1,500 seized fake 'Ma Ling brand' cans could contain meat from diseased pigs mixed with internal organs, according to Assistant Superintendent Chan Yiu-wah of the Intellectual Property Investigation Bureau.
He said the meat was probably made in an unhygienic and illegal plant in Sichuan.
It is the first time meat of this kind has been seized in the territory. Customs officers said the haul was worth more than $30,000.
It was seized from a godown in To Kwa Wan and two grocery stores in Sheung Wan and Kwai Chung in a two-day operation.
The 56-year-old owner of a trading company and two grocers were arrested. They were released on bail of between $1,000 and $5,000 each.
Mr Chan said about another 500 of the 1,588-gram cans had reached the market. 'They could be contaminated because the consignment had not been inspected by mainland authorities before being exported into Hong Kong.' The fakes bear only a stamp on the top of the tin. The real version has a pictorial trademark with English and Chinese wording.
