If you have ever wondered how beef strips can be sold as snacks for such a low price in China, it could be because the snack contains no beef whatsoever.

Yisi brand beef strips made by Siwei Foods have been accused in a Zhejiang court of being a counterfeit product because they don’t contain any beef. The brand has been around for 20 years, but only recently has it come to light that Yisi’s beef strips are made of pork infused with “beef paste” and other additives. Yum.

A consumer group looked closely at Siwei Foods’ five spice hand-pulled beef strips last year and said a lack of protein raised suspicions, which lead to an August 28 raid on Siwei Foods and another company, Lianxin Foods.

A 33 year-old Zhejiang man named Zhang was the head of the company, having taken over in 2007. He began to substitute pork for beef in 2012 to cut costs. The change was so lucrative that Zhang’s sister and husband soon started another company called Chengjia Foods, which also replaced beef with pork.

Thirty-seven people were arrested when police moved in on the operation. It found to make pork taste like beef, the strips need to be soaked in water to make the grains larger and more beef-like. Then they’re topped off with the beef paste and additives.

Photo: Southern Report