Police in eastern China have raided two fake jellyfish workshops, saying more than 10 tonnes is thought to have made its way into local food markets.

中国东部警方日前查获了两个“人造海蜇丝”黑作坊，据调查，约有10多吨假海蜇丝已经流入了当地的农贸市场。

Police said the fake jellyfish had been made by mixing chemicals, adding that checks showed high levels of aluminium¹. The syndicates made more than 170,000 yuan ($26,100) in profits in a year of production, they added.

警方透露，“人造海蜇丝”是由化学品混合制成的，其中铝元素含量较高。警方补充说道，生产这种假海蜇丝每年能获利17万元（折合2.61万美元）。

Huzhou municipal police in Zhejiang province, which is leading the investigation² said they first found a workshop run by a Mr Yuan, who made and sold the fake jellyfish at a farmer's market.

负责本次调查的浙江省湖州市警方表示，他们最先在某农贸市场里一位姓袁的老板的店铺中发现在制作和销售“人造海蜇丝”。

Mr Yuan then led detectives to a bigger workshop in Changzhou city in neighbouring Jiangsu province run by a Mr Jia who had taught him the "art" of faking jellyfish. He was detained alongside other syndicate members. The arrests were made in late April, but police only made it public late last week

袁某随后带领调查人员来到邻省的江苏常州市的一家更大的店面，该店面是由教授袁某“技术”的贾某开设的。贾某和其同伙已被警方拘留。这一逮捕行动发生在今年4月底，但直到上周末才对外公布了这一消息。

Mr Yuan told the investigators³ he made the jellyfish by mixing three chemicals - alginic acid, ammonium alum and calcium⁴ chloride anhydrous - according to an official release (in Chinese) by Huzhou police on social media platform WeChat. Officers say they found "excessive levels" of aluminium in the fake jellyfish - up to 800mg/kg, which is eight times of China's own legal limit.

据湖州市警方在微信上发布的一份声明称，袁某告诉调查人员，他是将三种化学原料--海藻酸钠、无水氯化钙、硫酸铝铵混合制成假海蜇丝。警方发现，“人造海蜇丝”中铝的含量“严重超标”，高达800mg/KG，是中国法定标准的8倍。

The food and drug safety branch of Huzhou police said too much aluminium could result in bone and nerve damage, and potentially harm memory.

湖州公安局食品和药品安全部门表示，摄入过量的铝可能会导致骨骼和神经的损伤，对记忆力也有一定的危害。

Although jellyfish can be poisonous they are considered something of a delicacy⁵ in China, as as both tasty and a good source of collagen. Especially popular in the summer, jellyfish skin is sliced and served like a salad with various dressings⁶.

尽管海蜇是有毒的，但因为其口感很好又富含胶原蛋白，所以在中国被视作一种美味食品。尤其是在夏天，海蜇被切成丝，加上其他佐料制成一道凉菜，非常受欢迎。

The Huzhou police have issued guidance on how to spot the difference. Artificial jellyfish is tasteless with no smell and is tough to tear and has a texture⁷ similar to sellotape. The real deal? Quite the opposite. It has a fishy⁸ smell, and is yellowish and colourful.

湖州警方已经对外公布了一项如何辨别真假海蜇的指南。“人造海蜇丝”尝起来、闻起来都没有味道，不易扯断，质地类似透明胶带。而真海蜇恰恰相反，它闻上去有海腥味，颜色看上去白中带黄。

This is not the first fake jellyfish bust⁹. In November 2014, Huzhou police, again, caught three individuals selling fake jellyfish made from a similar chemical mixture.

这已经不是曝光的第一起假海蜇案了。2014年11月，同样是湖州警方，抓获了出售假海蜇丝的三名个体户，据悉，这些“人造海蜇丝”也是用类似的化学原料制成的。