Food Safety: US Meat Supplier Disputes Chinese Court Verdict Over Selling Expired Meat in China Restaurants

By Staff Writer

Feb 02, 2016 05:49 AM EST

A United States meat supplier, OSI Group, is disputing a Chinese court's verdict over a claim that the firm's subsidiary sold expired chicken meat and beef on the China mainland and Hong Kong. The expired meat was reported to be distributed to huge fast-food chains including McDonald's and KFC, resulting in the fall of the restaurants' sales.

Even though the court has ruled the verdict, OSI Group responded with a disputed argument. The supplier claimed that the Shanghai court has cast an unjust verdict regarding the case. South China Morning Post also mentioned that OSI Group was considering appealing against the court verdict and taking legal action against Dragon TV after the Shanghai-based TV station investigated and reported the case.

In a statement, an OSI spokesperson said, "After an actual investigation was completed, all authorities involved have recognized that this case has never been about food safety. The verdict is inconsistent with the facts and evidence that were presented in the court proceedings." 

The case was first revealed in 2014 by Dragon TV Station based in Shanghai. They independently investigated and reported that OSI Group's local subsidiary, Shanghai Husi Foods and Hebei Husi Foods, had repackaged and sold old meat. The repackaging included changing expiration dates to cover the fact that they're selling old near-expired, even expired meat.

As a result of that claim, ten staffs of the firm were convicted by the court. Four of them were given suspended jail sentences while the remaining six has been put to jail. They were convicted guilty of repackaging expired and substandard meat and sold them as new products.

Besides the staffs, OSI China's general manager Yang Liqun would also be sentenced to three years in prison and deported to Australia. It's yet to be announced whether Yang would serve jail time in China or Australia. OSI Group has also been fined for its two local business unit for up to 2.4 million yuan ($364,875) in total, according to Reuters. The court stated that the punishment was rather moderate and lenient because of the defendants' cooperation in the case.

According to The New York Times, the court stated that general manager Yang was also involved in the repackaging and selling of out-of-date substandard chicken meat and beef from returned or canceled orders. 

OSI Group stated their disappointment on the verdict as it was handled by the local food regulator. The America-based meat supplier called the verdict on its two subsidiary business units in China and Hong Kong was unjust and inconsistent with the evidence found. This scandal has resulted in the fall of McDonald's and KFC's sales throughout the year.

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