Six parcels containing rat droppings mailed from the U.S. have been intercepted by customs officers in Central China's Henan Province, media reported over the weekend, citing the province's entry-exit inspection and quarantine bureau.
The Henan Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau detained the six packets of rat feces which weigh 0.5 kilograms according to the law, as the import company failed to provide the relevant quarantine documents, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Saturday.
As animal waste, it is forbidden to import rat feces into China. Rat droppings are easily infected with viruses, which could cause plague, endemic typhus and other diseases, severely threatening human health and lives as well as the environment.
In 2016, Henan customs intercepted more than 5,000 batches of forbidden items weighing more than 4,000 kilograms.
Henan customs did not disclose why the rate feces were sent, nor who imported them, but police from the UK have said previously that fake beauty products containing rats' droppings, human urine and toxic chemicals are endangering consumers' health.
