Global Courant
JIANGXI – Rats! what was that item in the meal?
On Saturday, a provincial research group in Jiangxi, China, confirmed that an object found by a student in a canteen meal was the head of a rat.
An initial investigation at the local level 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 foreign object in his meal. It sparked heated debate online about the issue. After the video went viral on social media, the college said on June 3 that 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 that it was duck neck, a normal food.”
The school stated that the student made a written statement at the scene clarifying the content of the video. It added that the market surveillance agency in Nanchang had also sent agents to investigate.
In a June 3 report from Jiangxi Radio and Television Station, director Jiang Xiexue of the agency’s Changdong branch said officers “repeatedly compared the object and confirmed that it was indeed a duck’s neck.”
However, many netizens believed that the agency and the school were lying.
According to Xinhua News Agency, on June 10, Jiangxi Province established an investigation team composed of various departments, including education, public security and market surveillance.
On Saturday, the team determined that the object was not a duck’s neck after reviewing the video and the canteen kitchen’s shopping list. Officers also interviewed canteen staff, the student and witnesses.
The statement said the object had been identified as the head of a rodent, according to animal experts.
The team said on Saturday that the local market surveillance department and the college “have conducted negligent investigations”.
