China’s latest food scandal: ‘leftovers, industrial salt’ used to make fake-branded food
Chinese newspaper alleges that district in Tianjin is a base to produce huge amounts of counterfeit food products, including sauces and seasonings labelled as well-known brands
A massive underground business that has been making fake-branded sauces and flavourings using recycled spices and industrial-grade salt that can be harmful to human health has been uncovered in Tianjin, according to a newspaper investigation.
The fake seasonings, sauces, stocks and powdered spices had been sold across the country under well-known domestic and international brand names including Knorr, Nestlé, Lee Kum Kee and Wang Shouyi for more than a decade, The Beijing News reported.
The workshops – numbering almost 50 – are so well-organised, with surveillance cameras installed outside their building and residents alerting them about any strangers, that local police admitted it was hard to crack down on the illegal business, the report said.
About 100 million yuan worth of the fake products are produced each year in the little town of Duliu in the Jinghai area of Tianjin, according to the article. Some producers earn so much money making the fake goods that they drive around in Porsches, it said.
Ingredients for the fake food seasonings include tap water and industrial-grade salt, which is banned from human consumption because it can contain cancer-causing agents and heavy metals that damage the liver and kidneys.