Meat pumped with pond water in China

Seven people in Guangdong, China, have been arrested for injecting dirty pond water into lamb meat to increase its weight and raise prices.

The suspects slaughtered up to 100 sheep per day at an illegal warehouse, and pumped bacteria-ridden water into the meat before selling it, state television reported in the latest food scandal to hit the world's second largest economy.

The meat was subsequently sold at markets, food stalls and restaurants in major cities such as Guangzhou and Foshan, China Central Television said.

Authorities raided the illegal lamb meat abattoir in Guangdong at the end of last month, finding around 30 carcasses injected with water, 335 live sheep, forged inspection stamps and equipment to inject water.

Each sheep was pumped with up to six kilogrammes of water just after being slaughtered, to add extra weight, reported Reuters.

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