Italian police seize century eggs, Chinese netizens fume

Netizens are feeling a bit insulted after Italian authorities publicly dissed a Chinese culinary delicacy that tends to make foreigners a tad squeamish.

Earlier this month, police in the Sicilian commune of Misterbianco commune confiscated 800 eggs from two Chinese restaurant owners. Many of the eggs were “century eggs” — duck eggs that have been buried in a concoction of mud, lime, ash, tea, salt, and rice hulls for generally around 100 days.

In a notice, Italy’s health ministry declared that the eggs had been imported in violation of European Union import laws, being of unclear origin, and called them “unfit for human consumption.”

On Weibo, net users lashed out against this designation. “Ask them what they think of canned herring?” wrote one netizen. “If you’re not going to eat them, give them to me!” requested another. “Foreigners should try a bite of a virgin boy egg from Dongyang,” suggested another, referring to a traditional dish from Zhejiang province where eggs are boiled in the urine of young boys.

Last year, the century egg was one of a number of specialties from China that was included in the Disgusting Food Museum in Malmö, Sweden, alongside stinky tofu, spicy rabbit head, and mouse wine. In 2011, it was voted as the world’s most revolting food in a CNN poll.

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