"Problem-free" then "Poor dish management" apology
A Chinese mother and daughter revealed that their tongues turned black after eating hot pot at a famous restaurant.
"Poor management of hot pot cooking pots"... Official apology issued after blackened tongues continue to appear
A mother and daughter revealed that their tongues turned black after dining at a famous hot pot chain. [Image source=Captured from Sangyu Newspaper]
On the 19th, local media including Shangyu News reported that a woman living in Hangzhou discovered her tongue had turned black after dining at a famous hot pot specialty restaurant with her mother. The woman took photos of their blackened tongues and posted them on social networking services (SNS). She added that they had not eaten any food that would specifically discolor their tongues. This news quickly spread across the Chinese internet.
Following this, netizens who experienced similar incidents came forward. They commonly claimed that they had encountered such issues after eating at restaurants operated by the franchise brand "Nanhuoguo."
Nanhuoguo hurriedly launched an emergency investigation into the restaurant. However, at first, they announced that there were no problems with the ingredients or cooking utensils. When the controversy did not subside after this announcement, Nanhuoguo conducted an additional investigation. Only then did Nanhuoguo admit to poor management, stating, "The blackening occurred due to improper management of the iron pots used for cooking hot pot," and issued an apology.
Food hygiene problems persist in China... Following 'pee beer' and 'naked cabbage,' now 'sewer duck innards'
A scene at a duck processing factory in Qingfeng County, Henan Province, China, where duck entrails are being stepped on to squeeze out impurities. [Image source=Captured from China Xin Jing Bao]
Repeated food hygiene issues in China are considered a chronic problem. In December last year, a rat was found in the cafeteria food of a vocational school, leading the school to issue an official apology and authorities to launch an investigation. At the end of November last year, a male worker at a butcher shop in Anhui Province posted a video on SNS showing him removing bones from raw lamb ribs with his mouth, boasting that it was a traditional technique faster than using tools, which drew disgusted criticism from consumers.
In October of the same year, a video surfaced showing a man urinating in the raw material storage area of Qingdao Beer’s third factory in Shandong Province, shocking consumers. Qingdao Beer explained that the urination did not occur inside the factory but in the cargo bed of a malt transport vehicle, but the incident still caused a sharp decline in sales and damage to the brand.
In 2021, the so-called "naked cabbage" incident occurred, where workers processed pickled cabbage without shirts, and in March two years ago, a CCTV exposed unsanitary production processes at a suancai (酸菜, pickled vegetable) factory popular among Chinese consumers, where workers entered pickling vats barefoot and discarded cigarette butts.
Earlier on the 17th, an expos? revealed that popular hot pot ingredients such as duck and goose innards were processed in unsanitary conditions. Factory workers placed innards on the floor and stomped on them to squeeze out waste, urinated in a sewer mixed with feathers and filth, and reused innards that had fallen into the sewer. They also dyed the originally grayish-white innards pink by soaking them in blood.
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