Market Fresh Food? (You Won't Believe What Turned Up In Chinese Markets)

When having a look in your freezer, you may come across a block of mystery meat. You're not sure how long it has been there so to be on the safe side, you toss it and head to the market for a fresh replacement. But what if what you were buying wasn't fresh at all? At the beginning of June, Chinese officials in Changsha arrested 20 suspected gang members and seized over 800 tons of frozen meat that had been smuggled into the country. The kicker, some of the meat had been frozen for over 40 years! Yuck. It is unknown exactly where the meat originated but it is believed to have been smuggled across the border and shipped in UNREFRIGERATED trucks, refrozen and sold to markets, retailers and restaurants all over China. China is no stranger to food scandals having had troubles from tainted milk powder that sickened and killed babies to watermelons that exploded due to a misuse of growth hormone. However, this one is puzzling. Bob Delmore, an expert on meat science at Colorado State University, says that it is possible for meat to last that long but it would be covered in freezer burn and the consumer would know something wasn't right as soon as it began to thaw. "The dead giveaway would be the odor and the taste," he said. Unbelievable. My stomach churns just thinking about it. Vegetarianism anyone? h/t: CNBC