Discarded airplane meals resold by dumpster divers from a village near Zhengzhou. (Internet photo)

Discarded airplane meals are being collected and resold by profiteers in Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan province, reports Want Daily, our Chinese-language sister newspaper.

The dumpster divers have been found to be collecting breads, sodas and biscuits before sorting and reselling them. Insiders said the foods were resold as side dishes to kindergartens. The authorities are now trying to track down the whereabouts of any other related items.

The program News Eye, run on Jiangsu TV, quoted residents lived near the Zhengzhou airport as saying that unfinished drinks, breads, biscuits and other foods from planes are sorted by villagers, repacked and resold.

One such underground food processing factory is located in Ping village near the Zhengzhou airport, according to Jiangsu TV. It is home to all kinds food waste brought back from the airport; the factory is like a dank market, with flies and insects buzzing to and fro. Two female workers were checking garbage bags carefully, the report said, picking out useable and unopened food and separating it.

The person in charge of the factory combined two half-full bottles of soda in front of reporters, claiming that the newly full item could be resold. Unopened bread is sold to kindergartens nearby, reported Jiangsu TV.