Fat Beef slices
In 2008, Guangzhou Anti-Smuggling Bureau seized a total of 286 tons of smuggled beef ribs.(Ycwb.com)
A large amount of illegally imported frozen beef from the United States was discovered at the Frozen Meat Market in Panyu, according to a local media report.
An undercover reporter recently discovered batches of meat labeled "IBP" or "US" and therefore originating from the United States, a country which has seen its beef exports banned from the Chinese mainland since an outbreak of Mad Cow disease in 2003.
Merchants have been unable to determine which American state the beef comes from and cannot rule out the possibility it comes from areas directly hit by the epidemic.
The products in question are cut into slices and sold as "Fat Beef" which is usually seen on tables in most hotpot restaurants. These slices of beef are later repackaged with a Chinese label and sold as a domestic produce.
The reporter said that nearly every store in the Panyu market was selling US imported beef and that it is likely that a great number of restaurants and supermarkets have been purchasing and reselling it.
The Guangzhou Anti-Smuggling Bureau claims it is working hard to stop such practices. In 2008, bureau officials seized a total of 286 tons of smuggled beef ribs.
