Tainted chicken feet seized in China

Chinese authorities have seized over 30,000 tonnes of chicken feet contaminated with hydrogen peroxide, according to state media, in the latest food scandal to rock the country.

Images in national media have shown large troughs filled with chicken feet soaking in what authorities say is hydrogen peroxide, a colorless chemical compound used for sterilisation and bleaching.

The chemical, which causes vomiting and other stomach problems if ingested in unsafe amounts, may have been used to give the chicken feet, which are a delicacy throughout China, a whiter, cleaner appearance.

Thirty eight people have been arrested on charges of producing the tainted items, while 11 people are still being sought.

The tainted items were discovered in Yongjia County in Zhejiang, eastern China. A subsequent investigation revealed hydrogen peroxide was being used in nine factories in Jiangsu, Anhui, Henan, and Guangdong, affecting several well-known brands of chicken feet sold in stores, China’s official news agency, Xinhua is reporting.

Several recent food safety scandals in China have involved global companies such as McDonald’s, KFC, Starbucks, Walmart and HJ Heinz.