The sausages that were returned were piled on the ground - photographed by Xin Yan, this newspaper's reporter.
At 5:35 AM, the first batch of sausages was sent out.
In a corner of the workshop, food additives were piled up.
A pile of moldy sausages was placed on the ground, and a basin of black water had countless dead flies floating on it. An old woman used a brush dipped in the black water to scrub off the mold from the sausages, revealing red sausage casings. For those that couldn't be cleaned properly, she opened the casings and crushed the slightly black sausage meat with her hands...
This video was provided to the reporter by someone who claimed their "conscience was severely condemned."
### Report
Moldy Sausages Washed with Alkali Water and Sold
The whistleblower exposed the dark secrets to the reporter: the pork in the cold storage room was black and smelly, possibly diseased dead pork; chickens, ducks, geese, and dogs roamed freely in the production workshop; moldy sausages were washed with alkali water and then sold; sausages returned from one market were wiped with oily gloves and sent to another market...
"Watching them produce like this every day makes me feel guilty about my own conscience. I've decided to bravely stand up and expose them!" The whistleblower said that in addition to complaining to relevant departments, they also played the video on TV screens at busy intersections in Changchun. "Citizens who saw it were all shocked!"
### Investigation
At least Five Flies Per Sausage
On August 4, the reporter went to the processing point in Kuancheng District of Changchun City as directed by the whistleblower. "Go through that field of crops, there are three rows of factories connected front and back, the first white gate is where the sausages are processed!"
The reporter knocked on the gate pretending to buy goods, and a bare-chested man in his forties led the reporter inside. Chickens, ducks, geese, and dogs ran around chaotically in the yard, and animal feces were everywhere on the ground.
Walking into the first room, on the left side, piles of moldy sausages were stacked. Next to them, a pot of black water floated with flies and mold, which should have been the scene in the whistleblower's video. The second door led to the workshop, where a foul smell hit the face. Sewage flowed on the ground, bloodstains were everywhere, and flies covered the meat grinder and workbench. The bare-chested man drove away the flies with his hands while saying, "Why are there so many flies today?"
In the drying area, the prepared sausages hung on racks in the corner of the wall. As people approached, swarms of flies flew up from the sausages. There were at least five flies per sausage.
Next to the workshop was the mixing room, less than ten square meters in size, with various pigments and additives piled in the corners.
The Stench of Spoiled Pork Made the Reporter Nauseous
Walking into the refrigerated warehouse storing the meat, the reporter was almost sickened by the stench. The floor was full of bloody water, and two sides of pork hung on the racks, with piles of minced meat and scraps on the ground. The air was filled with the smell of decay.
In the "roasting room" for smoking sausages, workers covered in soot added lumps of coal to the ovens with shovels.
Reporter: How much do you sell these sausages for?
Man: 9 yuan, wholesale price is 8.5 yuan.
Reporter: Where do you send these sausages?
Man: To the farmers' markets, supermarkets won't take them.
Reporter: Do you have all the necessary permits?
Man: All kinds of certificates are available. The other two factories behind us produce chicken essence and soybean paste respectively, we're relatives, our business is quite big.
The reporter bought a few pounds of sausages, left the boss's contact information, and then left.
### Tracking
Returned Sausages Mixed with New Ones
The reporter disguised himself and waited near the processing point.
As the interview car drove towards the processing point, it suddenly collided head-on with the delivery truck from the processing point. The old woman sitting next to the driver was the same one who appeared in the video. As the two cars passed each other, the reporter saw dozens of bags of sausages on the rear seat. The interview car turned around and followed behind.
The old woman entered a Jixiang Comprehensive Store near Xiaobai Bridge with a bag of sausages. A few minutes later, she came out holding another bag, but the sausages inside had decreased. She opened the car door and threw the bag back onto the rear seat, mixing it with the other sausages.
Near the intersection of Qian'an Road and Taiyou Street, at a farmers' market, the sausages were delivered to a cooked food store and a dried tofu store. Similarly, the old woman came out with another bag of sausages and threw it on the rear seat.
Were the sausages brought out unsold or leftovers? At 6:50 AM, when the old woman walked into a farmers' market on Xichangyang Road, the reporter followed her inside. In an Eight Treasures Delicatessen store, the old woman argued with a salesperson. The salesperson took out a few leftover sausages from the counter and wanted to return them. The old woman said, "Just these two sausages, don't return them, I'll give them to you!"
After turning around near Xichangyang Road, the delivery truck was lost. What to do?
Sausages Delivered to Multiple Farmers' Markets
The reporter called the boss of the processing point, claiming the unit needed some sausages for a trip. The boss readily agreed. Around 7:10 AM, the delivery truck stopped at a supermarket as arranged, and the reporter bought 5 pounds of sausages at 9 yuan per pound.
The interview car followed the delivery truck to a farmers' market near the Changchun Automotive Industry Development Zone. In front of the "Farmer Roasted Chicken" shop, the old woman delivered a lot of sausages. A few minutes later, a man got out of a black car and took away three bags of sausages after paying.
Delivered 2 bags of sausages at Zhi Nong Da Road farmers' market.
Delivered sausages at Kuanping Da Road farmers' market entrance.
Delivered 1 bag of sausages near Ji'an Road farmers' market.
Delivered 2 bags of sausages at Satellite Square nearby Satellite Comprehensive Market.
Delivered 1 bag of sausages at the roasted chicken delicatessen shop near the Women's Prison.
Delivered 1 bag of sausages at the delicatessen shop near Shunfeng Big Market.
### Investigation
No Production License, Cease Operations for Rectification
The reporter reported the situation to the Director of the Kuancheng Branch of the Changchun Municipal Quality Supervision Bureau, Su Zhongge. Director Su immediately reported it to the provincial and municipal quality supervision departments.
In the afternoon of the 5th, Deputy Director Kong of the Changchun Municipal Quality Supervision Bureau and Director Su of the Kuancheng Branch listened to the reporter's undercover investigation process and watched the undercover video. According to the address and data provided by the reporter, the quality supervision department found that none of the three processing points for sausages, chicken essence, and soybean paste had obtained a production license. More than ten law enforcement officers were divided into three groups, each responsible for one processing point. At around 3 PM, two law enforcement officers from the Kuancheng District Animal Quarantine Department arrived.
At around 4:30 PM on the 5th, more than ten law enforcement officers arrived at the three processing points in the Kuancheng District.
The bare-chested man recognized the reporter and became very agitated. When he saw the reporter pick up an empty packaging bag on the ground, he immediately tried to grab it, but was stopped by the law enforcement officers.
Beside the plastic basin, the reporter found a package labeled "Multi-purpose detergent," which read "Special for hotels, bathhouses, and toilets." The bare-chested man said, "This is for washing basins!"
The workshop door was locked, and in the room where the returned sausages were stored, the moldy sausages were more numerous than on the 4th, and the plastic basin containing the black water had been cleaned.
"Who is the boss?" The law enforcement officers shouted several times, but the bare-chested man, the old woman delivering goods, and the driver all said the boss wasn't there.
The law enforcement officers inspected the workshop, refrigerator, seasoning room, and oven. "Why isn't there any disinfectant in the disinfection pool? Why aren't there any mosquito nets on the workshop windows? The seasoning room is too dusty..."
The law enforcement officers asked to see the licenses, but the three couldn't produce them. "They're with my daughter in the city!" said the old woman delivering goods.
Yesterday, Director Su stated that the person in charge of the sausage processing point brought the business license and health permit, but there was no production license, and it hadn't been declared. With such poor hygiene conditions, production was definitely not allowed. They must cease operations for rectification and only continue production after obtaining a production license. Neither the chicken essence nor the soybean paste processing points had production licenses.
### Dialogue
Moldy Sausages Used to Feed Ducks
During a conversation with the old woman delivering goods, her answers were laughably absurd.
Reporter: What do you plan to do with the moldy sausages?
Old Woman: I raise ducks, they're used to feed the ducks.
Reporter: How many ducks?
Old Woman: Five.
Reporter: There must be sixty or seventy pounds of sausages here. Can five ducks eat that much?
Old Woman: ...
Reporter: You crushed the moldy sausages and mixed them with new ingredients, how do you explain that?
Old Woman: I'm over sixty years old, I definitely don't lie, it definitely wasn't me.
Reporter: There are three types of preservatives in the seasoning room.
Old Woman: I swear to heaven, my sausages absolutely do not contain preservatives.
Reporter: Then why did you buy so much?
Old Woman: Isn't it summer now?
### Concern
"Red Temptation" Makes Sausage Meat Red
In the seasoning room of the processing point, the reporter found more than ten kinds of additives. The pigment used by this processing point was "Red Temptation," which could make the color of the sausages turn fresh pinkish red.
Flavor Enhancers Highlight the Aroma of Sausages
During the processing stage of the sausages, besides pigments and preservatives, flavor enhancers were also added. The text on the packaging explained that they were "used to highlight the aroma of pork sausages." The reporter discovered pork flavor enhancer, pork rib flavor enhancer, and braised pork flavor enhancer.