Walmart donkey meat tainted with fox

In yet another case of strange animal DNA being found in meat. Walmart in China (I didn't even know that there are Walmarts in China) has been found to be selling Donkey meat tainted with Fox. The controversy brings to mind the thread about eating Lion meat, and the ensuing
discussion about what limits we place on the types of animals we will eat. Most Americans would not consume either donkey or fox, but apparently in China it is a big deal. What makes it more interesting, is that it is a case of the meat of a herbivore being tainted with the meat of a carnivorous mammal.

Even more curious, is the disparity in the size of the two animals. One would think that normally, to increase profitability, an animal's flesh is cut with the meat of an animal of equal or greater size, such as European beef being mixed with horse meat. Was this a mistake or was it done purposefully? The linked article quotes one puzzled consumer as asking whether fox is actually more expensive than donkey. How many foxes does it take to equal one donkey? This brings to mind a shaggy dog story my Russian grandfather used to tell about buying ground rabbit from a butcher. When he asked the butcher if the rabbit meat was pure, the butcher admitted that there was some horse meat added. When asked how much horse meat was added, the butcher replied " Half and half. One horse, one rabbit".

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/0 ... 30628.html

I think that once you get to looking at the DNA present in a meat you've gone far past any sort of measure of balance in the meat, and are looking at every possible ingredient. I'd actually be interested in trying fox, but I certainly understand how people don't want surprises in their meat. Does anyone know if there is a Chinese cultural aversion to eating Fox?

Even if there isn't, I certainly understand how anyone could get angry at being sold any food product with false labeling.

Remind me again...
What does the fox say?

zoid wrote:Remind me again...
What does the fox say?

New YouTube Viral Video:
How does the fox taste?

I mean if you are going to eat donkey who cares if it has fox in it?

Depending on the nature of the test, I wonder if it can distinguish between fox and other members of the Canidae (e.g. dog).

Pie-love wrote:Depending on the nature of the test, I wonder if it can distinguish between fox and other members of the Canidae (e.g. dog).

Exactly what I was thinking, especially in a culture that embraces eating dog this is a feature!

Regards,

When I was teaching at Wuhan University, my grad students--intelligent as all philosophy grad students are -- soon discovered that I was a foodie. So they produced a tee-shirt boldly emblazoned with the characters for "dog curry", which I thenceforth wore with gusto. The reaction to the shirt and its being worn by a knowing waiguoren was always worth enjoying.

Geo