"Stepping and Urinating on Ingredients in Hot Pot"... Even Chinese Media Were Shocked

Popular Ingredients for Hot Pot in China
Reuse of Duck Intestines Found in Sewers

There has been an expos? revealing that popular Chinese food ingredients, goose and duck, are being processed in unsanitary conditions at factories. Workers were seen placing intestines on the floor, stepping on them to squeeze out excrement, urinating into the drains, and reusing intestines that had fallen onto the floor.

A scene at a duck processing factory in Qingfeng County, Henan Province, China, where duck entrails are being stepped on to squeeze out impurities.
[Image source=Captured from China Xin Jing Bao]

On the 18th, local media including China’s Xinjingbao reported that they made unannounced visits last April to two meat processing factories located in Binzhou, Shandong Province, and Qingfeng County, Henan Province, exposing that goose and duck intestines were being processed in unhygienic environments. At the Qingfeng County facility, workers wearing rubber boots stepped on goose intestines to squeeze out filth. They also soaked the intestines, which were originally grayish-white, in blood to dye them pink. Goose intestines were scattered across the factory floor, and the walls were stained with filth and other grime. The goose intestines processed here were mainly supplied to hot pot restaurants in Chongqing, but no production date labels were attached. The person in charge at the Qingfeng County factory admitted, "The sanitary environment did not meet standards, and we were inspected by regulatory authorities last year and this year."

Unsanitary workplace at a duck processing factory in Qingfeng County, Henan Province, China. [Image source=Captured from Xinjingbao]

At the Binzhou facility, which reportedly slaughters 140,000 ducks per day, duck intestines that had fallen into the sewage pipes were retrieved and placed back onto the production line. The sewage pipes were mixed with duck feathers and filth, and workers were sometimes seen urinating there. Some employees smoked cigarettes while washing duck intestines, even throwing cigarette butts into baskets containing the intestines. Duck intestines awaiting washing were piled on the floor, and when cleaning the floor, the intestines were neither moved aside nor protected; instead, cleaning agents were poured right next to the intestines. Although the duck intestines were covered with cleaning agents and filth, the workers said they just needed to be washed with water.

Underage workers were also found at this factory. One boy was 15 years old and reportedly had been working at the factory for three months with his parents. Another girl claimed to be 10 years old and said she had been at the factory for more than 10 days. In China, employing workers under the age of 16 is prohibited by law.

The media requested confirmation from local inspection bureaus and received responses that the issues were being addressed. However, local netizens reacted with comments such as, "This is shocking because it’s a must-order menu item when eating hot pot," "I feel sick even without eating it," and "It’s so disgusting I can’t stand it."