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The vendor, whose real name is Chen Xiufeng, sent shockwaves across the Chinese internet when she wrote on social media late on June 9 that someone had complained about the discrepancy.

“From now on, I will write it clearly for everyone,” said Chen, who has since halted sales and is now the subject of a regulatory investigation.

Millions reacted in anger on social media platform Weibo, drawing the attention of local market regulators, who launched a probe on June 11for “suspected misleading of consumers”.

“False advertising and huge profits,” one Weibo user complained, suggesting that Chen should be jailed.

While China is no stranger to food scandals, Chen’s image as a down-to-earth laborer has struck a nerve, said Manya Koetse, a Sinologist and founder of the Eye On Digital China newsletter.

“At the heart of it was her having such an authentic story,” she told AFP.

The authorities may now seek to make an example out of Chen, given her fame, Koetse added.

Chen, who is in her 50s, sold barbecued delicacies in Beijing for more than 15 years, but shot to fame in 2023 when large queues for her meat formed outside the prestigious Tsinghua and Peking universities.

Since then, she has sold roasted legs across Beijing through social media and was invited to speak at Peking University’s Women’s Development Forum in 2024.

As goose legs can cost more than double the price of duck in China, many online accused her of deliberately misleading consumers for profit while cultivating a humble image.

“I’ve never seen such a brazen person,” one Weibo user commented.

“Shouldn’t auntie pay the students back?” another wrote.

Chen told local media she switched from goose to duck legs years ago due to stock availability.

“Calling myself ‘duck leg auntie’ didn’t sound right to me, so I said I’d stick with ‘goose leg auntie’,” she told state-affiliated media outlet China Newsweek.

“I didn’t intentionally deceive them, why would I?”

But as the scandal snowballed, state broadcaster CCTV weighed in to call her misrepresentation “sinister” and “chilling”.