Hong Kong Canned Meat Contaminated with Liquid Mercury
Unless you’re preparing for the nuclear holocaust or stuck in a trench during World War II, there’s no reason to eat canned meat – ever! It’s meat, in a can, that lasts for years. That’s the definition of disgusting.
So its no surprise a brand of canned meat sold in Hong Kong was found to be contaminated with liquid mercury, as many as 48,000 cans.
According to the Centre for Food Safety (CFS), up to 1,000 cases of Greatwall Brand Chopped Pork and Ham may be tainted with mercury. But how it got in there is unclear. Mercury is not used in the manufacturing process.
Mercury is a toxic metal that can harm the brain, kidneys, and lungs, and do damage to the immune and nervous system.
The CFS was tipped off when a can of meat was found to have silver droplets in the meat, which were later identified as mercury. The CFS has already called for a halt on the sale of Greatwall Brand canned meat.
Mercury rears its ugly head in a lot of places. Pollution has contaminated a lot of the fish we eat with mercury, like tuna in sushi. And in 2008, tests on America’s iconic bald eagle revealed high levels of mercury in their blood and feathers.
Image credit: ben de jesus
