A raid made by Guangzhou police yesterday upon an illegal smokehouse revealed an operation to prepare rotten pork with chemical additives for consumer consumption in very unhygienic conditions, reported Guangzhou Daily.

The concealed smokehouse was discovered in a filthy state with open sewage running through it. The operation to make smoked bacon involved marinating the rotten pork with additives to help give the meat an improved look and taste to make it more palatable to customers.

The additives involved in the process include dimethyl dichloro-vinyl phosphate (DDVP), sodium nitrate, industrial salt, and food coloring popularly called “Sunset Red” and “Sunset Yellow”.

Each of these additives have specific traits:

• DDVP (Vapona) is commonly used as insecticide and to protect stored products from insects. It is not currently banned by the Environmental Protection Agency in the USA, but has been considered.
• Sodium nitrite helps preserve meat, improves its taste and color, and slows down the process of deterioration.
• The ingestion of Sunset Yellow has been linked to hypersensitive reactions and behavior problems.

Five people were taken into custody. Police confiscated 2000 kg of rotten pork, and 530 kg of bacon products.

The suspected leader of the operation had purchased the rancid pork from Sihui, Zhaoqing. He is said to also operate a barbecue shop in Guangdong province.

Photos: Guangzhou Daily