Beijing's poultry scare now growing to Godzilla proportions
Staff Reporter 2012-12-24 16:36
Chickens produced chain by Shandong Liuhe Group are said to be infused with growth hormones. (Internet photo)
Since McDonald's and KFC chains were busted for buying hormonally confused chicken, 23 others enterprises in Beijing — including the Japanese fast-food chain Yoshinoya — have been rounded up by the Beijing Animal Health Inspection Bureau as having purchased chickens from the same dubious source: Shandong Liuhe Group. Chicken meat has been seized from the restaurants and sent for testing, according to our sister newspaper Want Daily.
Although there were reports of some Yoshinoya branches in Beijing temporarily discontinuing their chicken products, a message on the company's official microblog said, "To date, no chickens from Liuhe Group were used in our restaurants and our food is safe to eat."
Shandong Liuhe Group and Shandong Yingtai Food Company have used illegal feed to prematurely fatten their chickens, which were purchased by KFC and Pizza Hut — both under the Yum! Brands conglomerate — and McDonald's. These rapidly aging chickens are fed at least 18 kinds of antibiotics, and bred to maturity (3.5 kg) in just 40 days, according to the report.
The other enterprises under investigation by the bureau include some of the city's most prominent food distribution groups, according to the Beijing News.
The Beijing Agriculture Department has issued a demand to tighten supervision of companies which have purchased food from Shandong Liuhe Group. The department has dug thoroughly into Liuhe Group's frozen broiler products. They took two samples, each 600 grams, from every inventory site, and have sent them to City Animal Health Supervision and Inspection Center.
The Beijing Technology and Business Department has also gotten mixed into the investigations, and has started to check on broiler sales channels for the city's supermarkets and markets. If any products fail quality tests, the market will be asked to take all of the meat off the shelves.
Results from lab tests are still unknown.
