China Does Not Export Human Meat to Africa, Says Ambassador to Zambia

Because of past internet rumors that human meat is being sold and eaten in China, the country had to deny the speculations that it is exporting dead bodies as canned goods to Africa.

Yang Youming, China’s ambassador to Zambia, clarified the rumor that meat from dead bodies are marinated, canned and shipped to Zambia. “This is completely a malicious slandering and vilification, which is absolutely unacceptable to us,” The Washington Post quoted Yang.

On May 3, a post on Facebook made by Barbara Akosua Aboagye, a resident of Accra, Ghana, had two photos and the following caption: “Please send this to all your contacts, it’s very important. Chinese people have started producing corned beef with their dead bodies and sending them to Africa. Please stay away from the corned beef irrespective of brand, most especially in Africa and from Afro-Asian grocery shops.”

The photos are still in Aboagye’s Facebook page, but the social media portal hid it and placed the following warning: “This photo was hidden because it shows mature content, such as graphic violence.” The three images could still be viewed by clicking an icon. Since it was posted, the images had become viral and shared more than 26,000 times.

From her status, Aboagye is not a teen who is into viral videos or memes, but is the CEO and founder of La Delores Kollections, which sells online footwear and bags. She also occasionally posts inspirational quotes.

Tabloids in Zambia were accused by Chinese state media of spreading the rumors. Some shared the photos and quoted Chinese meat factory workers as saying the practice started when China began to run out of burial grounds. The real non-human meat made in Chinese factories are allegedly exported to more powerful nations.

But Snopes, a website that debunks internet hoaxes, explained that the photos was a 2012 marketing gimmick for the video game Resident Evil 6. Capcom, the creator of the video game, set up a the Smithfield Market in London an art installation that made it appear human meat is being used but it is actually pork shaped to resemble human corpse.