Shirley Cheung*, a grandmother from Hong Kong, knows she is breaking the law every time she buys partially cooked beef brisket in Shenzhen to bring home.

At a hot pot restaurant in Shenzhen’s Liantang Port, brisket costs about 76 yuan ($11) per kilo. It would cost more than 200 Hong Kong dollars (US$26) at his local wet market in Sheung Shui, New Territories.

“These fresh briskets are only delivered to this restaurant once a day, perfect for making soups and stews,” said Cheung, 66. “The quality and price make it irresistible, and the meat appears cooked after blanching.”

She is one of many Hong Kong residents who disregard the law and ignore signs at the border crossing telling them not to bring in food without proper hygiene certificates, including partially cooked meat that bleeds when cut.

“Everyone does this to save money,” the grandmother of three said. “I doubt the customs officers will be able to arrest us all. »

The Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department spotted 1,324 cases of illegal food imports at land border checkpoints between January and August. This exceeds the 1,019 cases recorded over the whole of last year.

Most of those captured had raw meat. The 817 people arrested in the first eight months of this year exceeded the 467 arrested in all of last year.