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The rancid meat was purchased in Wellcome, Shau Kei Wan. Photo: Edmond So

Nasty surprise for seasoned chef as rancid meat ‘explodes in his face’

Wellcome conducts spot checks on fresh meat after cook gets hospital treatment

Bryan Harris

A seasoned chef got a nasty surprise when he cut into a piece of prime pork only to discover a thumb-sized pus-filled cyst which exploded in his face.

Martin Weir, a 30-year veteran of the culinary industry, sought medical attention in hospital after expressing concern the cyst could be the result of an infection or disease in the animal.

"I've only once in my life smelled something worse - and that's a burning body," said the former British army chef, who once cooked for a contingent of 2,100 troops.

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The meat had been purchased on Thursday at a Wellcome supermarket next to Shau Kei Wan MTR station and was still days away from the expiration date on the wrapping.

The 47-year-old cook - who was preparing a pork and mushroom dish for his lunch that day - said he feared the cyst could have contaminated the entire shipment or even the farm where the animals were bred.

"If I'm the unlucky guy who gets one bad piece, then so be it. But if it's from an infected farm, and if all the animals have it, then this could become a regional problem," he said.

A spokesperson for Wellcome did not respond to inquiries about the source of the meat.

However, the company said that upon hearing about the case it immediately conducted a spot check on its meat products and found no similar cases.

"The cyst was inside the fresh meat so it was difficult to be identified when being processed. Wellcome has reiterated its safety standards and guidelines on fresh meat handling and checking to frontline staff."

Weir said food standards in Hong Kong were generally good and he had not seen anything of that nature in his 25 years in the city.

"But who really knows?" he said.

Following his medical consultation, the chef was given a biohazard bag and asked to send the piece of pork to the Centre for Food Safety for examination.

The centre said it would investigate the Wellcome store in Shau Kei Wan and take necessary action to safeguard food safety and public health.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Infection worry after chef finds cyst in pork
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