Hog Rectum Being Packaged as Faux Calamari?

A Doppelganger-themed episode of This American Life revealed that pig rectum could be being manufactured as fake calamari, reports Gothamist. The story got traction when a TAL reporter heard about a farmer “with some standing in the pork industry” who discovered the calamari rendition when he visited a processing plant. The farmer refused to go on record—as well as a plant manager who noted that he never saw the calamari, but heard about it from his employer. According to Gothamist, it would be illegal to pass off the hog rectum as real squid in the United States, but a food industry attorney told TAL, “It’s aimed mostly at sanitation and food safety. If someone wanted to do it, chances are they’d get away with it.” Although all confirmations at this point are hearsay, the story begs a further investigation.

1/22/13 Update @ 2:15pm: This piece has been updated to further emphasize that none of these allegations have been confirmed. VegNews apologizes for our error in the initial story.