The Dangers of Street Food: Cardboard Pork Rolls Discovered in Beijing

We have all commented, at one time or another, that a particularly bad pizza we might have ordered tastes like cardboard.

This is always an exaggeration, of course. But if you've ever been to China, there is a good chance that you might actually be speaking the truth.

Authorities in Beijing recently arrested "bakers" who were making a popular roll-baozi-out of cardboard.

An undercover TV crew infiltrated the bakery where a worker explained how ordinary cardboard was soaked in caustic soda and then chopped up with a meat cleaver. Bits of fatty pork and seasonings were then folded into the mixture before the rolls were steamed and sent out to the Beijing marketplace. Before being arrested, the baker mentioned to the undercover reporter that 60% of the roll was reprocessed cardboard. Mmmmm....

Normally, it is the meat I am suspicious about while eating on the street in China. I never imagined that the meat might actually be what it claims to be, but everything else isn't.

Related:
Montezuma's Revenge
Eatin' Dog
Avoiding the Side Effects of Bad Street Food
Chinese Shish-ka-bobs

Filed under: Food and Drink, China