Some factories in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, engaged in the manufacture of seasoning for hotpot cooking, have been found to be using paraffin in place of butter in their products, according to the Chongqing Morning Post.

The news when first revealed by CCTV last Sunday immediately cast a shadow over Chongqing hotpot, which has long enjoyed popularity in China for its spicy and delicious flavors.

The local hotpot guild has published a notice in the media asking residents to help it identify the guilty factories and has offered a reward of 100,000 yuan (US$12,000).

According to business insiders, the main ingredient for hotpot seasoning is butter. Some factories, to save costs, added paraffin to the ingredients packet which still feels hard to the touch as if it contained butter.

It is estimated that 1 kilogram of paraffin can replace 3 to 4 kilograms of butter.

Paraffin, after boiling for some time breaks down into smaller particles which can cause damage to people's respiratory tract and stomach. Diarrhoea which many people have suffered after eating hotpot may well have something to do with adulterated seasoning and any residue will continue to damage health and may even lead to cancer.

Chongqing hotpot is regarded as the most genuine and delicious in China and the municipality recently launched a thorough inspection campaign of hotpot restaurants as well as the hotpot ingredients sold in markets.

Last Monday, after an inspection of 21 factories and 119 stands and shops, five restaurants were found to have a problem with their seasoning ingredients.

Inspectors warned that when people were buying the ingredients they should feel the package carefully. Real butter feels smooth while the paraffin feels coarser.

Before the Chongqing hotpot incident, meat shreds from Taicang of east China's Jiangsu Province and Jinhua ham in Zhejiang Province -- both popular in China -- were found to be in breach of regulations, respectively for not using meat from freshly slaughtered pigs to save costs and for adulterating the product with chemicals.

(Shanghai Star February 5, 2004)