On December 28th, a blogger in Changsha, Hunan Province, uploaded a video claiming that he bought a package of beef jerky at a local expo, but found out upon cooking it at home that it was mostly tofu jerky instead. The blogger mentioned that the beef jerky was purchased at the expo for 75 yuan per half a kilogram. As he typically prefers lighter flavors, he decided to boil the beef jerky in water. To his surprise, the cooked beef jerky turned out to be mostly tofu jerky and other soy products.
The blogger showcased the packaging of the product in the video, where the food was labeled as beef jerky with only beef and salt listed as ingredients.
The following day, on December 29th, the blogger posted another video, reiterating the process of boiling the beef jerky in water to substantiate his claim that the product he received was not genuine beef jerky, without any editing or manipulation. The blogger added that he refrained from exposing the brand of the beef jerky temporarily as he couldn’t confirm if it was a counterfeit product he purchased.
In the video, the blogger expressed that if it weren’t for his “bizarre” act of boiling the beef jerky, such deceit might have remained undetected for who knows how long.
The incident sparked discussions online, with many netizens commenting that making a pound of beef jerky would require several pounds of fresh beef, and genuine beef jerky would usually cost over a hundred yuan per pound, indicating that 75 yuan is unlikely to get you real beef jerky.
On December 30th, a report by Jixiang News stated that they had contacted the blogger at noon that day. While the blogger did not disclose the brand of the beef jerky, he mentioned that he had filed a complaint with the local market supervision department. The blogger confirmed that the issue he raised was real and that the vendor was a mobile participant at the expo.
According to the report, the expo mentioned by the blogger took place at a convention center in Yuhua District, Changsha, from the 26th to the 28th of December. The local market supervision department is currently investigating the matter.