The Tukeng Sauerkraut incident: Local pillar industry hit hard, 4 officials held accountable

The Tukeng Sauerkraut incident: Local pillar industry hit hard, 4 officials held accountable

After the CCTV 3-15 Gala in 2022 exposed the quality problems associated with the production of sauerkraut in a number of enterprises in Hunan Province, the local government acted overnight to order the enterprises involved to stop production and rectify the situation, and to implement measures such as sealing and recalling the relevant products on the market. More than 30 pickled vegetable enterprises in Huarong County also stopped work and production for rectification.

According to the latest news, Huarong County and Junshan District in Yueyang City have been held accountable for the lax supervision and ineffective performance of local government departments responsible for food safety supervision.

The current mustard purchase season, Hunan Province also said that the province will be a comprehensive rectification of the pickled vegetable industry, unified pickled vegetable production standards, to ensure that the interests of farmers are not damaged.

Pillar industries hit hard

The CCTV reported that the production workshop of Hunan Jieqi Cuisine Co Ltd ("Jieqi Cuisine"), a supplier to many well-known food companies, was dirty and disorderly, and that the sauerkraut pickled in the standardised pickling pool was used to process export products, while the sauerkraut in the old pickle bags for domestic sales was bought from outside. earthen pit sauerkraut".

The report mentions that the reporter followed a truck from the flag-planting vegetable industry and found the pickles in a farmland. The workers were taking out and bagging the pickles from an earthen pit.

The workers, some wearing slippers, some barefoot, stepped on the pickles, even the scales were placed directly on the pickles. And these sauerkraut were not tested for health indicators when they were purchased by the flagging vegetable industry.

On the night of 15 March, the main leaders of Huarong County, the County Market Supervision Bureau and the Public Security Bureau arrived at the enterprises involved and sealed all the products on the spot. 16 March, the Hunan Provincial Food Safety Committee Office decided to hang a licence on a number of enterprises suspected of producing sauerkraut illegally in Huarong County, such as the Flagstaff Vegetable Industry, Jinrui Food and Haixia Pickles. Hunan Provincial Market Supervision Bureau law enforcement officers have also rushed to Huarong County to carry out enforcement checks.

In the afternoon of March 16, Yan Qinwu, chairman of the board of directors of the company, publicly apologized to the television cameras, saying, "I was wrong, I am deeply ashamed, and I apologize to the majority of consumers. In the future production process, accept the inspection and rectification in place."