Hong Kong food lovers who cross the border for inexpensive street snacks and hot pot may be taken aback by a recent undercover investigation by Chinese media. The probe found that many cheap sausages, meatballs, and dumplings sold in mainland China are made from a paste of ground chicken necks and frames, artificially flavored and falsely labeled as beef or pork.
The Meat Grinder: From Chicken Neck to Table
Reporters from Flash News visited several food-processing plants in Henan province. There, they discovered manufacturers buying “chicken frames”—the bony skeleton left after breast meat removal—and “skin-on chicken necks” at rock-bottom prices. These raw materials are mechanically deboned and ground into a pulp, which the industry calls “chicken neck mud” or “chicken frame mud.” The paste is then sold to food companies that use it in products ranging from street sausages to hot-pot meatballs and dumplings.
The cost difference is staggering. While chicken breast sells for over 8,000 yuan per ton, the neck mud goes for just 3,000 to 4,000 yuan per ton—a discount of more than half. That saving is passed on to consumers, but at a far less appetizing cost: truth and safety.
Fake Beef, Real Health Risks
In one facility the same chicken neck mud was turned into “beef” meatballs simply by adding beef tallow and beef extract, a synthetic flavoring. A factory manager admitted, “The beef flavor is entirely from the extract.” Another plant owner initially denied using such pastes, only to have a truckload of chicken neck mud pull into his yard during the interview—a moment captured on camera.
A factory official bluntly warned: “You’d better not eat too many filled products, because you never know what’s inside.”
Filthy Floors and Empty Regulators
The report also documented deplorable hygiene. At a Henan plant, rush-hour processing continued as wastewater pooled around workers’ feet and raw chicken parts were piled on the grimy floor.
Equally troubling is the regulatory void. Some factories operate without licenses; others hold permits that fail to meet basic standards. When questioned about safety testing, producers said they had never checked for key indicators. Local market regulators and agricultural authorities are said to “kick the ball” back and forth, leaving the entire chicken-neck-mud trade virtually unsupervised.
Past Precedents: Starch Sausages with Pet-Food Ingredients
This is not an isolated incident. The People’s Daily earlier reported that starch sausages, a hugely popular street snack, often contain chicken bone mud—a product normally destined for pet food. A bone-mud supplier explicitly said, “Bone mud is not for human consumption, not even for grilling.”
How They Fool Your Taste Buds
Manufacturers rely on two key techniques to disguise the truth:
- Fine grinding: The base ingredient is crushed so thoroughly that its original form is lost, then blended with starch and other fillers.
- Artificial flavors: Heavy doses of meat essences and seasonings create the illusion of real meat. Among five brands tested, all contained added flavors.
What Hong Kong Consumers Can Do
Although the findings are alarming, they also offer practical lessons for anyone who enjoys affordable mainland food:
- Choose whole cuts: Opt for recognisable pieces of meat rather than heavily processed items.
- Check labels: Look for clear ingredient lists and avoid products with vague wording or suspiciously long lists of additives.
- Question the price: If a sausage or meatball costs just a few yuan, it likely contains cheap fillers and artificial flavours.
- Buy from reputable outlets: Established chains and certified brands are more likely to follow food-safety standards.
The investigation by Flash News and People’s Daily underscores a systemic gap in enforcement that compromises food safety. For Hongkongers who frequently shop and dine across the border, aware consumption and a healthy dose of skepticism remain the best defence. Stronger cross-border oversight and stricter supervision of processing plants are desperately needed to ensure that what ends up on the plate matches what is printed on the packet.