Jeremiah 29:11

Gosh, I am glad I live in this country. It brings a whole new meaning to the term roughage.


Chinese food 'made from cardboard'

Chopped pork-flavored cardboard is being sold as food in Beijing

The cardboard is softened with an industrial chemical

The report highlights the country's problems with food safety

Countless illegal food operations exist across China
BEIJING, China (AP) -- Chopped cardboard, softened with an industrial chemical and flavored with fatty pork and powdered seasoning, is a main ingredient in batches of steamed buns sold in one Beijing neighborhood, state television said.

The report, aired late Wednesday on China Central Television, highlights the country's problems with food safety despite government efforts to improve the situation.

Countless small, often illegally run operations exist across China and make money cutting corners by using inexpensive ingredients or unsavory substitutes. They are almost impossible to regulate.

State TV's undercover investigation features the shirtless, shorts-clad maker of the buns, called baozi, explaining the contents of the product sold in Beijing's sprawling Chaoyang district.

Baozi are a common snack in China, with an outer skin made from wheat or rice flour and a filling of sliced pork. Cooked by steaming in immense bamboo baskets, they are similar to but usually much bigger than the dumplings found on dim sum menus familiar to many Americans.

The hidden camera follows the man, whose face is not shown, into a ramshackle building where steamers are filled with the fluffy white buns, traditionally stuffed with minced pork.

The surroundings are filthy, with water puddles and piles of old furniture and cardboard on the ground.

"What's in the recipe?" the reporter asks. "Six to four," the man says.

"You mean 60 percent cardboard? What is the other 40 percent?" asks the reporter. "Fatty meat," the man replies.

The bun maker and his assistants then give a demonstration on how the product is made.

Squares of cardboard picked from the ground are first soaked to a pulp in a plastic basin of caustic soda -- a chemical base commonly used in manufacturing paper and soap -- then chopped into tiny morsels with a cleaver. Fatty pork and powdered seasoning are stirred in.

Soon, steaming servings of the buns appear on the screen. The reporter takes a bite.

"This baozi filling is kind of tough. Not much taste," he says. "Can other people taste the difference?"

"Most people can't. It fools the average person," the maker says. "I don't eat them myself."

The police eventually showed up and shut down the operation.

RoswellGrey

Interesting. There's a chain of eateries called Panda Express. Their food tastes like cardboard, not the other way around.

RLSH700

Full of industrial and cardboard goodness in every tough bite. Yum!

I don't like Chinese food personally, but this is nothing short of disgusting. Perhaps this explains why we might have had issues with products and food related products from them.

McDonald

Thats terrible.. I cant wait to go to a Chinese restaurant and say " Yea i'll have the cardboard buffet."

RLSH700

LOL! That's an excellent quote.

1 Bad Mirada

but as americans, many of us eat at mcdonalds or arbys....

i worked at an arbys through high school, and let me tell you a little something about their "slow roasted roast beef". if you REALLY enjoy arbys, you may want to not read on.

"roast beef" is a cut of meat that can be shredded in raw form...when you cook it, you get meat with a grain to it, that will peel away. arbys "roast beef", is actually packaged and shipped in the form of 10lb bags of processed beef paste and beef "leftovers". it smells like meat, but you can mold it like you can play dough...so its sort of like damp, bloody playdough. thats why they have to slow roast it...because to serve it undercooked could be very bad. when you open it, you make a cut down the middle of one of the long sides, then cut wings to the sides, then flip it over and peel the plastic away...you have to do it this way, because the paste isnt solid enough to pick it up, and it will quickly ooze and leave the "roast" in a shape that makes it hard for the slicer to cut. many people dont believe me, but ive cooked hundreds of arbys "roasts", and i was even the employee of the year in 1998...the same year that they fired me..makes a world of sense. perhaps they have changed things since 1998, but my guess is tht if you go into an arbys and ask to see a raw roast, they will tell you no...as the paste looks VERY unappetizing. [:'(]

i have not had food from arbys in something like 9 years. in my last few years there, the only thing that i would eat were the meats that come prepackaged and presliced, such as the ham and roast chicken. we have also cut faast food out of our diet, although thats mostly due to the fact that i cant handle grease.

honestly, i think that i might rather eat cardboard compared to some of the food that comes out of the filthy canneries in this country, but unfortunately, no one cares about the product that they put out, so many of the people who are making the food dont care if dirt or rat poop finds its way into the soup. there is a cleanlines standard in thi country abbreviated RFPM. rat feces per million. thats right, food companies in this country are ALLOWED a certain percentage of rat poop. that amount is higher for animal food, such as dog and cat food. then again, that is the problem with most of the industries in this country...no one takes any pride in what they produce anymore...which is why the auto companies in thi country are putting out hgh priced junk, because union boys show up, do as little a possible with no regard for quality, collect their 30-40 dollars an hour, and go home.

TechmanBD

Arby's = [:'(]

I have ate there 2 times in my life, both times I got sick feeling. Never will eat there again.

RLSH700

Thanks for the info. I prefer smaller mom and pop shops anyways. I'm looking into eventually opening a restuarant with some friends of mine who own a mom and pop shop already. I have seen everything. The meat is fresh from the local small town meat shop which has a good reputation. All of their other ingredients are fresh. They get as preservative free ingredients as possible and get fresh things regularily and you can tell the difference. The taste is wonderful and unmatched by any chains.

1 Bad Mirada

i ran a restuarant for a while...i wish you the best of luck. its a rough ass industry.

RLSH700

Thank you. That'll be a couple years down the road, with a few experienced partners. I'm going to do the marketing end along with offering a few signature offerings to make it stand out in a large, wealthier community. I plan on doing this on the side and keep a primary job. As of right now I'm single and have lots of time on my hands.