Beijing Steam Buns Include Cardboard
Thursday July 12, 2007 10:01 AM

BEIJING (AP) - Chopped cardboard, softened with an industrial chemical
and made tasty with pork flavoring, 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.

China Central Television'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.

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-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 show up and shut down the operation.