In the latest mainland food scare, tonnes of pig blood curd, a favourite food in Chongqing, have been found soaked in carcinogenic formalin to preserve freshness.
Inspectors from the Jiulongpo district industry and commerce bureau found nearly five tonnes of suspected contaminated blood curd in a 4am raid yesterday on a workshop at Baishiyi, said China News Service.
The workshop began making blood curd two years ago, despite not having business or hygiene licences. It supplied blood curd to markets in Xiaolongkan, Panxi and Lieshimu in Chongqing.
Formalin, a liquid containing 35 per cent to 40 per cent formaldehyde, is used as a disinfectant and for preserving biological specimens. It has been banned as a food additive because it can cause cancer and deformities in newborns.
'Some blood curd inspections showed more than 100 milligrams of formaldehyde in each kilogram,' one inspector told the news agency. As little as 1 milligram of formaldehyde per litre is thought to put people at risk.
This follows reports this week that Clenbuterol, known on the mainland as 'lean meat powder', was being fed to pigs to reduce body fat and give meat a pinker, fresher appearance.