Dumped 'fresh' vegetables were actually rotten

The Jiangsu Dafengcang Agricultural Group clarified on Tuesday that a video claiming to be Shanghainese dumping donated vegetables was actually people disposing of decayed products during transport.

The video that recently went viral shows two officials shoveling boxes of vegetables into a garbage trolley. Netizens suspected the vegetables donated by other provinces were dumped rather than distributed to residents.

The agricultural group that donated the vegetables said the vegetables were subjected to excessive heat during the long journey from Yancheng in northern Jiangsu Province to Shanghai, so some were rotten when they arrived. The group decided to recall them for disposal.

"It's hard to tell from the video but the stems of some vegetables had gone very bad and we couldn't distribute or sell such things to people," said an official with the group surnamed Zhao.

Meanwhile, a video shot in Fengxian District's Nanqiao Town provoked a similar controversy – vegetables donated by Liaoning Province were thought to be dumped.

Town officials said they disposed smashed tomatoes, decayed cucumbers and sprouting potatoes, but the rest of the vegetables were distributed to needy families.