Chinese Restaurants’ Hygiene Nightmares: A Series of Disturbing Incidents

① Franchise Restaurant Reported by a Chinese Citizen

Once again, China’s hygiene controversy has come under the spotlight. Recently, the unsanitary cooking environment of a famous chicken rice bowl franchise in China was exposed through social media. A Chinese blogger filmed and posted the rice bowl restaurant on social media.

The video revealed the stark reality of the kitchen. Cooking tools were covered in filth, and the bowls containing ingredients were dirty. The chicken that went into the rice bowl was skewered and left on the kitchen floor. The kitchen sink was blackened. After watching this video, the severe hygiene conditions would deter anyone from going near the place.

The blogger highlighted hygiene: “It’s too dirty to even look at. I can’t tell if this is for garbage or people’s food.” When the blogger approached with a camera, the restaurant staff pushed him away, asking, “What exactly are you trying to say?”

② China’s Continuous Food Hygiene Controversy

Recently, a hotpot restaurant in Zhejiang Province in eastern China also sparked a hygiene controversy.
While two customers were dining, several rats suddenly fell from the ceiling. One landed on a customer’s head and another on the table. The startled customers quickly moved away.

The customer with a rat falling on his head received medical treatment as the rat scratched him. The controversial video began to spread through social media, and an on-site investigation was conducted at the restaurant, which is now closed for ‘internal construction.’

The shopping mall where the restaurant is located stated, “We are investigating the issue in cooperation with the relevant department” and “We will close the entire floor where the restaurant is located and negotiate to compensate for the losses incurred by the customers.” The local authorities said they would strengthen the safety supervision of food production and public places through on-site investigations.

A rat was also found in a school cafeteria in Jiangsu Province, China. One netizen reported, “I found a rat in a condiment jar in a school cafeteria in Jiangsu Province,” and posted a video. The video was soon deleted, but the situation worsened as over 300,000 people retweeted it.

The school immediately started an inspection and apologized, saying, “We caused a scandal due to poor hygiene management.” Currently, food hygiene controversies are continuously arising in China. Even Chinese citizens are criticizing the unsanitary conditions that are being exposed. Recently, a foreign substance believed to be a bat’s body was found in an instant hotpot by Yangguofu Foods, a famous food company in China.

③ Despite Heavy Fines, the Problem Persists

The continuous controversy over hygiene in China is causing ongoing anxiety. Despite the authorities’ promise to prevent a recurrence, they struggle with serious hygiene problems. In June, a rat’s head was found in a school cafeteria in Jiangxi Province.

The China Market Supervision Administration ordered the operators and responsible persons to pay a fine of approximately $1.1 million. At the time, the school and administrative authorities denied the issue, saying, “It was confirmed to be a duck neck, not a rat’s head, and there is no problem with food safety.” However, the Nanjing authorities launched an investigation and admitted it was a rat’s head.

In this process, criticism grew that the school and administrative authorities were trying to cover up the issue. Furthermore, additional cases of foreign substance detection were found.

Despite the heavy fines imposed by Chinese authorities, the food hygiene controversy is not ceasing.
China holds regular food safety promotion events every year. They have been trying to improve the situation, even revising the Food Hygiene Law, which has been in place since 1995, to the Food Safety Law.

Particularly in China, due to the large size of the country, food safety management and hygiene supervision are divided and executed by four departments: the Ministry of Agriculture, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the General Administration of Customs, and the Ministry of Health.
When a problem occurs, there are cases where they pass the buck to each other. Also, the complexity of Chinese law, which is divided into central, local, and ethnic minority laws, influences the hygiene controversy.

By. Sung Min Seo