Woman in Taiwan uses dried seahorses to brew medical wine, realises they’re made of plastic 10 years later

Woman finds out dried seahorses bought 10 years ago are made of plastic

A woman in Taiwan discovered on Monday (3 June) that dried goods she bought a decade ago to brew medical wine were made of plastic.

These include ingredients such as dried cordyceps, turtle shells, and seahorses.

Liu Xue Mei (name transliterated from Chinese) made the startling discovery after discovering that the dried goods somehow retained their shape despite being soaked in wine for more than a decade.

Woman spent NTD 8,000 on “medicinal materials”

Ms Liu told Taiwanese news site Liberty Times Net (LTN) that she spent NTD 8,000 (~S$333) on the “medicinal materials”.

She assumed she had gotten a great deal since she heard of people paying over NTD 100,000 (~S$4,164) for similar goods.

Recalling the transaction, Ms Liu said the seller claimed the items could be used to brew medical wine, which has ‘replenishing’ properties during winter.

Following the advice, Ms Liu soaked the dried goods in wine for more than a decade, occasionally using it for cooking.

While cleaning the container on Monday (3 June), Ms Liu realised that the dried turtle shell felt unusually soft.

Upon closer look, she realized that the ingredients somehow maintained their shape despite being steeped in wine for more than 10 years.

Further inspection revealed that the “medicinal materials” were made of plastic.

By the time she made this discovery, the container was already half empty.

Warns others to be careful when purchasing goods

Ms Liu mentioned that she had heard of counterfeit medicinal goods being sold abroad.

However, she was not suspicious as she bought the items at a tourist attraction in Taichung, Taiwan.

In light of the discovery, Ms Liu took the opportunity to advise others to be vigilant when purchasing similar goods to avoid getting scammed.

Also read: M’sian lecturer claims 90% of honey in country is fake, ministry looking into comments

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Featured image adapted from Liberty Times Net