Laboratory analysis found that pork bones and backbones had been immersed in a solution containing 50% hydrogen peroxide. Photo credit: Guardia Civil/Ministerio de Interior
What if you had bought some meat for dinner unaware that it had been left unrefrigerated, stored on a dirty floor and treated with an industrial chemical to make it look better? That is the disturbing reality discovered during an investigation in southern Spain, where authorities have seized more than 30 tonnes of meat and bones from a premises in Benaoján, Málaga.
The Guardia Civil seized 30,530 kilograms of meat products after uncovering serious hygiene problems and evidence that pork bones and backbones had been treated with industrial hydrogen peroxide. The premises have been closed, and the seized products have been ordered to be destroyed.
Investigation uncovers two neighbouring warehouses
The investigation, known as Operation Redox, began in December 2025. Officers from the Guardia Civil’s Nature Protection Service, SEPRONA, inspected a meat business and discovered two neighbouring warehouses, one authorised and another allegedly operating without the necessary licences.
According to investigators, the unauthorised premises were being used to alter meat products before they were transferred to the authorised facility, concealing their origin and allowing them to be prepared for possible sale.
Pork bones whitened with industrial chemicals
Laboratory analysis found that pork bones and backbones had been immersed in a solution containing 50% hydrogen peroxide, an industrial chemical that is not authorised for this use in food processing. Investigators believe the treatment was intended to whiten the products and improve their appearance. The process raised concerns that meat could be made to look more acceptable despite problems with its handling and storage.
Officers also found meat kept without adequate refrigeration, with products lying on the floor among dirt and fluids. Testing identified microbiological contamination associated with the failure to maintain the cold chain. The two problems posed different risks. Poor refrigeration can allow harmful microorganisms to multiply, while hydrogen peroxide at the concentration identified is corrosive and can cause serious burns and damage to the digestive tract if ingested. The combination made the products a significant food safety concern.
More than 45 tonnes of hydrogen peroxide purchased
Investigators traced the business’s purchases of hydrogen peroxide and found that the owner had acquired a shocking 45,830 kilograms between February 2025 and June of this year in order to treat the meat he was bleaching and later trying to sell, according to reports citing the Guardia Civil investigation.
The figure gives an indication of the scale of chemical purchases examined during the investigation. The case centres on more than the appearance of the products. Investigators are examining how meat was being handled, how the chemical treatment was carried out and whether the use of neighbouring facilities helped conceal the products’ origin.
Premises closed and meat ordered destroyed
The Andalucian regional government’s health authorities ordered the closure of the premises and the destruction of all 30,530 kilograms of seized meat and bones. The business owner and the plant manager are being investigated over suspected offences against public health and alleged falsification of private documents. The case has been referred to the judicial authorities in Ronda, Málaga.
Authorities have not been able to confirmed how much, if any, of the affected meat reached consumers before the seizure. The investigation has established the scale of the products removed and the conditions found at the premises, but the available reports do not establish that the entire quantity had been treated with hydrogen peroxide or sold. The seized products are to be destroyed, preventing them from entering the food chain through the stock covered by the order.