Residents’ hopes of Lunar New Year preserved pork go up in smoke
Authorities in China have banned city residents from making smoked bacon – a traditional method of preserving pork – because it is blamed for polluting the air.
An “anti-bacon” crackdown by authorities in China has banned city residents from making smoked bacon – a traditional method of preserving pork – because it is blamed for polluting the air.
Since Tuesday Chongqing’s Environment Protection Bureau and the municipal departments of public security, city planning, food and drug administration have enforced the ban on the smoking of bacon in major districts of the city, the Xinhua news agency reported.
Eating preserved pork and sausages is a long-held tradition in Chongqing and the neighbouring Sichuan Province.
Many households make smoked bacon before Lunar New Year, which falls on February 19 this year.
Chongqing’s anti-bacon campaign came days after an official in the neighbouring city Dazhou sparked a wave of controversy by blaming the lingering smog on smoked bacon.
The bureau said the burning of materials in the open air and making “firewood chicken” – a delicacy cooked with lots of firewood – are now also prohibited.