From July 2011 to May 2014, a total of 539 samples of RTE foods
were collected from retail markets; these included cooked pork
(117), cooked chicken (152), cooked duck (121), cold vegetable
dishes in sauce (54), cold noodles in sauce (51), and fried rice/sushi
(44). The sampling sites were distributed 24 provincial capitals of
China (Fig. S1). Each sample was weighed, marked, placed in a
separate sterile bag and was transported to laboratories immediately
in an ice box.