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CHINESE PLANT SHUTTERED AFTER WORKERS GNAW FEET OFF CHICKEN CARCASSES

August 7, 2002
Meating Place
Dan Murphy

A chicken plant in Chengdu, China, was shut down after its workers
were caught using their teeth to debone chicken feet before packing
the meat for sale to food outlets, according to asiaone.com

Health officials of the southwestern Chinese city raided the food
processing plant last week in response to a tip, the Beijing Morning
Post reported. Two women were gnawing at chicken claws when health
inspectors broke into the premises, the report said. Beside them was
a basketful of chewed-off bones. Medical check-ups later revealed
that some of the plant's workers were carriers of hepatitis B, a
viral disease that can be spread by body fluids.

According to one of the workers, the factory had honed the act of
deboning into an efficient procedure. First, the chicken feet were
half-boiled in water and then slit along three spots with a knife.
The workers then pried open the skin with their fingers and used
their teeth to take out the bones. The bones were spat into
containers while the pieces of skin were soaked in water before being
delivered to restaurants and markets.

According to the newspaper, a worker demonstrated how it was done,
leaving traces of saliva on the deboned chicken feet.

A fast worker could debone one foot every four to five seconds, or
more than 220 pounds of "processed" chicken feet a day.

More than 550 pounds of chicken feet were confiscated, but the
plant's owner is still at large. Workers refused to reveal his
whereabouts.

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