Five dettained in China’s Food Scandal

By Staff Reporter - 23 Jul '14 12:58PM

Five people were arrested in connection with the supply of contaminated and expired meat to fast-food brands in China, said Shanghai police.

The detained include head of Shanghai Husi Food Co Ltd, a unit of U.S.-based OSI Group LLC, and its quality manager, reports Reuters.

A Shanghai food and drug watchdog found out that the meat supplied to the McDonald's and Yum Brands Inc, the parent company of KFC and Pizza Hut, and many other global brands in Japan also , was past its expiry date. More than 1000 tons of suspected meat was ceased, said the official Xinhua news agency

"We discovered that some of the company's illegal behavior was not the behavior of individuals, but rather an organized arrangement by the company," deputy head of the Shanghai Municipal Food and Drug Administration told Reuters.

OSI's food processing plant has strict regulations, all worker need to wear special clothes and unannounced spot check are held regularly, said a factory employee of another OSI food processing plant in northern Chinese provinces of Hebei.

However, Shanghai food watchdog's deputy head Gu said that the Shanghai Husi kept two record books .One was false with all records intact for public display, according to a Dragon TV report.

FamilyMart Co Ltd of Japan has halted sales of all contaminated products from Husi.

"I am deeply sorry for causing this trouble and worry to all those involved .We do not think there is any problem with our operating structure but the very fact that this happened means that I think that additional checks should be put into place to help reassure consumers.", says Family Mart President Isamu Nakayama to reporters in Tokyo.