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Shangai - When inspectors visited Shanghai Husi Food earlier this summer, the production line at the plant now at the centre of an international food scandal appeared in good order, with fresh meat being handled by properly-attired workers and supervisors keeping a watchful eye over the process.
However, if they had arrived unannounced a day before, they would have found piles of blue plastic bags filled with out-of-date meat stacked around the factory floor, said a worker, adding the old meat was often added back into the mix to boost production and cut costs.
"The next day, that meat just disappeared - someone must have disposed of it. The manager said it was an inspection," said the worker.
Food industry
On July 20, following an undercover local TV report that alleged workers used expired meat and doctored food production dates, regulators closed the factory, which is part of OSI Grou, a US food supplier.
Police have detained five people including Shanghai Husi's head and quality manager.
The scandal - which has hit mainly big foreign fast-food brands including McDonald's and Yum Brands, which owns the KFC and Pizza Hut chains, underlines the challenges facing inspectors in China's fast-growing and sprawling food industry. China is Yum's biggest market and McDonald's third-largest by outlets.
