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A strange object found in a school meal in China was the head of a rat, Chinese authorities have concluded, overturning previous official reassurances that it was duck neck in the latest twist to a food safety scandal that gripped the nation for weeks.
The furore has also exposed deep levels of public distrust in Chinese local governments, whose attempts to cover up negative news have often backfired.
The controversy began on June 1, when a student at the Jiangxi Industry Polytechnic College in the southeastern province of Jiangxi discovered something weird in his dish at the school canteen.
In a video he posted on Chinese social media, the student picked up the dark hairy object with his chopsticks and complained to the canteen staff that he had found a rat’s head.
“This is duck meat,” a female staffer replied.
“Isn’t this rat’s teeth?” the student said, turning the object to reveal the tiny white pieces in the middle and the shape of a nose above.
“This is duck meat, duck meat,” the staffer insisted. “How could there be teeth in duck meat?”
