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Amazon faces lawsuit for selling products containing donkey meat

February 25, 2023 - from Business Insider

• "A new lawsuit claims Amazon is breaking California law by selling products containing donkey meat. The retailer continues to sell items with "ejiao," a gelatin made from the skin of donkeys.
• "Competitors like Walmart and eBay have pledged to stop selling goods made with ejiao.

"The Center for Contemporary Equine Studies is suing Amazon for selling products containing donkey meat, despite efforts from advocacy groups to halt the practice.

"The lawsuit claims the e-commerce giant is illegally selling products that contain "ejiao" — a gelatin made from the skin of donkeys and used in various products like health supplements — in violation of California animal welfare law.

"According to the Brooke USA Foundation, a group fighting against Amazon in support of donkey welfare, ejiao acts as "a hard gel that can be dissolved in hot water or alcohol to be used in food or drink, or in beauty products such as face creams." Some advocacy groups and consumers claim companies are deceptively using the substance, contributing to the slaughter and skinning of millions of donkeys a year.

"One Amazon customer told Wired she was shocked to discover anti-hemorrhage dietary supplements on the site that claimed to be "100 percent pure, natural herbs" but contained "gelatina nigra," another name for ejiao.

"Now, the lawsuit is aiming to use an obscure law to stop the sale of ejiao, claiming Amazon is breaching the 1998 Prohibition of Horse Slaughter and Sale of Horsemeat for Human Consumption Act on the grounds that donkeys are equine animals, according to Wired.

"According to an analysis of 1,000 products containing ejiao or that included terms like "donkey hide" conducted by Wired, at least 15 edible items contain the gelatin, and at least four were available to ship directly from Amazon warehouses (as opposed to third-party sellers)."