Mystery item found in food determined to be from duck eye

An object involved in a food scandal at a canteen in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province, was most likely a duck eyeball sclera structure, based on further testing results, according to the local market regulation authorities on Wednesday.

In a Weibo message posted on Wednesday morning, the Guangzhou Administration for Market Regulation said there had been no possibility of relations between rubber products or disposable gloves after the object was submitted for tests.

According to local media reports, a student currently receiving training at a vocational school, affiliated with a local science and education investment company, found an unknown object in their food when dining at the school's canteen on Monday.

The object was later identified as the eyeball membrane of a duck, after an investigation conducted by the company itself. But students, who claimed the object to be an unused plastic product, refused to accept the investigation result.

The canteen was ordered to close operation on Tuesday, with samples of the object being handed over to Guangzhou Institute of Food Inspection and Guangzhou Quality Supervision and Testing Institute for further testing, the authorities said.

Technologies and methods including morphological, nucleic acid, protein and infrared testing have been used in the sample testing.

The test result showed that there were high similarities between the unknown subject and a duck eyeball sclera structure, with their appearance, color, structure and texture almost being the same.

Nucleic acid and protein testing results indicate that the object samples are composed of organic matter from animals, with duck origin and protein components being detected, the authorities said.