An Australian butcher has called ‘fake’ on an unsettling video that emerged out of China on Monday where a piece of freshly cut beef appears to pulsate with life.

According to local media, a Chinese shopper claims to have purchased a cut of beef at a market, and brought it home before filming the steak twitching – presumably hours after it was butchered.

But Chris Martin, of Lucas Meats in Sydney, says meat could only still be moving if it was cut within 90 seconds of slaughtering the animal.

“When an animal is killed there will often be involuntary spasms,” says Martin, adding that the window for this kind of phenomenon to occur is tiny.

The Bronte butcher reckons the video from China could in theory be real, but that it was unlikely.

Martin’s expert opinion will have squeamish meat eaters breathing a sigh of relief and tearing up their vegetarian membership applications.

At the heart of the story was Mrs Cheng of Shandong Province, who bought the beef and, once she had recovered from the shock of seeing it move before her eyes, pulled out her camera to record the freak show, CCTV-News reports.

Mrs Cheng said at first she thought the beef may have been infested with maggots or insects, causing the cold cut to “beat” like a heart.