Public doubts persist after Beijing television network claims a tainted-food report was faked by a 'temporary employee'
An investigative television report on cardboard-stuffed steamed buns sold in Beijing has been declared a hoax, but the verdict is unlikely to dispel lingering public concerns over food safety on the mainland.
Beijing TV (BTV), which has been fighting aggressively for supremacy among the mainland's many regional television networks, was forced to make an embarrassing apology on Wednesday over the story on the cardboard-filled buns.
It said the reporter was a temporary employee, identified as Zi Beijia , who was now in police custody and faced possible criminal charges. BTV's apology was broadcast nationwide last night by CCTV. The All-China Journalists Association went a step further, publicly denouncing Zi, saying his fake story had brought shame on the country.
The report, aired on July 8, claimed an unlicensed restaurant in Beijing was churning out steamed buns filled with a mixture of pork and cardboard soaked in a chemical.
The 'expose' purportedly showed a seller of the buns, known as baozi, softening shredded cardboard with an industrial chemical - early reports said caustic soda - and fortifying the bogus meat with a bit of fatty pork.