The college put up a notice clarifying that the foreign object in the student's meal was duck neck. - PHOTOS: WEIBO
JIANGXI, June 18 (China Daily/ANN): Rats! what was that item in the meal?
On Saturday, a provincial investigative task force in Jiangxi, China confirmed that an object found by a college student in a canteen meal was the head of a rat.
An initial local level probe noted that the item was duck neck.
On June 1, a student from Jiangxi Industry Polytechnic College in Nanchang posted a video on social media showing a strange object in his meal. It sparked heated discussions online over the matter. After the video went viral on social media, the college said on June 3 the item was duck neck.
“After investigation, the content of the video does not match the facts,” the school added. “The student in question invited classmates to identify the object at the time of the incident, and confirmed it as duck neck, a normal food.”
The school stated that the student had made a written statement at the scene clarifying the video’s content. It added that the market supervision bureau in Nanchang had also sent officers to investigate.
In a June 3 report by Jiangxi Radio and Television Station, director Jiang Xiexue of the bureau’s Changdong branch said officers “repeatedly compared the object and confirmed that it was indeed duck neck”.
However, many netizens believed that the bureau and the school were lying.
According to Xinhua News Agency, Jiangxi province on June 10 established an investigation team comprising various departments – including education, public security and market supervision administration.
On Saturday, the team determined that the object was not duck neck, after reviewing the canteen kitchen’s video and purchasing list. Officers also interviewed canteen staff, the student and witnesses.
The statement said the object was identified to be the head of a rodent, according to animal experts.
The team said on Saturday the local market supervision department and the college “did not conduct an investigation carefully”.
It added that the food business licence of the canteen had been revoked, and the company and its legal representative had been given the maximum penalty in accordance with the regulations.
The team said those responsible, from the college and market supervision bureau’s Changdong branch, will be dealt with strictly. - China Daily/Asia News Network
