Hanwei Group () is a company based in Dalian, China. It is

China's China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

biggest producer of

eggs Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...

.Malcolm Moore
China milk scandal spreads to eggs; High levels of the chemical in the China milk scandal have been discovered in Hong Kong in eggs from the mainland
''Telegraph'', 27 October 2008 In October 2008, it became embroiled in a

scandal A scandal can be broadly defined as the strong social reactions of outrage, anger, or surprise, when accusations or rumours circulate or appear for some reason, regarding a person or persons who are perceived to have transgressed in some way. Th ...

involving traces of

melamine Melamine is an organic compound with the formula C3H6N6. This white solid is a trimer of cyanamide, with a 1,3,5-triazine skeleton. Like cyanamide, it contains 67% nitrogen by mass, and its derivatives have fire retardant properties due t ...

being found in its eggs.

Overview

Hanwei group specialises in egg-based products and seafood. It is the biggest producer of eggs in China, exporting to

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a p ...

, Japan, and Southeast

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

. Some processed egg products are exported to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

.Gillian Wong
Chinese delayed disclosure of tainted eggs
AJC.com, 29 October 2008

History

The company was founded by Han Wei, currently the vice-chairman of Dalian's Federation of Industry and Commerce. He is also a notable

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often featur ...

delegate.

2008 Melamine scandal

On 22 October 2008,Chinese melamine scandal widens
BBC News, 31 October 2008 authorities in

removed Hanwei product "Select Fresh Brown Eggs" from shop shelves, as more than twice the legal limit of the plastic

was found in them.Hong Kong widens China food tests
BBC News, 27 October 2008 The eggs contained 4.7 ppm (part per million) of

, compared to the government imposed legal limit of 2.5 ppm for

in food.China egg producer apologizes for melamine contamination
Chinaview.cn, 29 October 2008 It is thought that the eggs became contaminated after the chickens which laid them were fed tainted feed. Melamine is commonly added to food to increase the apparent

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, res ...

content. The practice is illegal. On 29 October 2008, board director Han Wei issued a statement saying, "We feel rather shocked and sorry and would like to shoulder all responsibilities and consequences resulting from the incident." He admitted that no explanation for the delay has been given so far, though melamine had been found in the feed back in September. The company was planning to sue the feed producer.

References

External links

Hanwei Group Homepage
{{Food companies of China Companies based in Dalian Food and drink companies of China 2008 Chinese milk scandal