China’s Biggest Dairy Company in Deep Trouble

The value of stocks in Huishan Dairy Holdings—China’s largest dairy company—fell by 85 percent at the close of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Friday. Stocks plummeted after a story surfaced that the dairy company’s largest shareholder illegally used 3 billion yuan (more than $400 million) to invest in real estate. The company is now valued at $4 billion less than it was last week, which may force it to cease operations at its 82 dairy farms. Various forms of corruption within the animal products industry have been recently brought to light including this month’s scandal in Brazil where JBF—the world’s largest beef producer—was implicated in bribing health officials to deem rotten meat adulterated with acid as safe for consumption.