Introduction:The Fengxian District Market Supervision Administration in Shanghai recently conducted surprise inspections on five popular milk tea brands at Baolong Plaza. The results were startling — well-known establishments such as Chun Shui Tang, CoCo, and Cha Bai Dao all made the list, with the main issues revolving around missing staff health certificates, improper storage of ingredients, and unhygienic working environments. This article delves into the details of the incident and extends the discussion to multiple food safety incidents in the catering industry in recent years, helping consumers understand potential risks and points to consider when making choices.
Recently, a topic related to milk tea shop food safety quietly trended on Weibo, drawing significant attention from netizens. The Fengxian District Market Supervision Administration carried out surprise inspections at several well-known milk tea outlets within Baolong Plaza in Shanghai, and the results were shocking — five brands, including Chun Shui Tang, Cha Bai Dao, 7 Days Sweet, CoCo (Coca), and Xiong Ji, were all found to have varying degrees of food safety hazards.
It is reported that this inspection focused on key items such as the possession of health certificates by employees, raw material management processes, and the hygiene of work environments. The investigation found that these stores commonly had issues such as incomplete health certificates among staff, unclear labeling of raw materials, and disorganized work areas, resulting in a zero percent overall compliance rate, leaving many consumers exclaiming they “dare not drink anymore.”
According to information officially released, the exposure of this incident originated from a concentrated inspection targeting high-popularity milk tea shops in the commercial area. The inspection covered multiple aspects, including whether employees held valid health certificates, whether raw materials were properly stored and labeled, and whether production processes met basic hygiene standards. Alarmingly, all five of these brands were found to have clear violations after the inspection.
Specifically, at the Chun Shui Tang outlet, inspectors found that one employee did not hold a valid health certificate, and raw materials such as tea leaves were only stored in simple storage boxes, with no labels indicating packaging dates or expiration dates, nor any categorization. More surprisingly, used rags were found placed alongside the tea leaf raw materials, significantly increasing the risk of cross-contamination.
At the CoCo (Coca) outlet, it was found that many raw materials in the freezer were left uncovered and not sealed, with some materials even casually placed on tables without lids. The back kitchen corner was particularly cluttered, lacking basic organization and categorization.
As for Cha Bai Dao, in addition to some employees not having complete health certificates and wearing masks improperly, it was also discovered that some semi-finished products were not covered, food ingredients were not properly sealed, and there was even a serious case where the employee’s own opened food items were mixed with the shop’s ingredients, greatly increasing the likelihood of food contamination.
At the 7 Days Sweet outlet, issues included personal drinks of staff being mixed with store ingredients, unpackaged raw material packages in the warehouse, and discarded fruits not being handled according to regulations but instead carelessly thrown away. These details could all become potential hidden dangers to food safety.
The situation at the Xiong Ji outlet was similarly concerning. Not only were fruits and cleaning tools stored together, but the trash bin was often overflowing with garbage and not cleaned promptly. The kitchen floor was damp and dirty, brewed tea leaves were not cleared promptly and were placed haphazardly, and raw materials were neither categorized nor mostly left unsealed before being placed directly into cabinets. The production and washing areas were extremely messy, and drinks were even placed directly on the work counter.
This incident sparked heated discussions on social media platforms. As of now, the topic has garnered over 520 million views and more than 25,000 discussions. Many netizens expressed that seeing their once-favorite milk tea brands appear on the list made them feel uneasy about their everyday beverage choices.
In response to the inspection results, the Shanghai Municipal Market Supervision Administration has documented the issues at the involved outlets and issued rectification notices. Some stores were even required to suspend operations for rectification until improvement measures were fully implemented.
In fact, this incident is not an isolated case. As early as 2020, the well-known chain brand Burger King was exposed by the 3·15 Gala for using expired ingredients. Subsequently, the China headquarters issued an apology, emphasizing that the involved outlets were mostly franchises. In the same year, 85°C, Mankattan Dessert, and Gui Yuan Pu were also fined for food safety issues, involving the use of expired ingredients and bacterial contamination, among other problems. Even IKEA was exposed at the end of 2020 for having expired coffee extract, highlighting the importance of food safety management in the catering industry.
A review of these cases reveals that food safety is not only the foundation of a brand’s reputation but also a guarantee of consumer health. Regardless of brand size or market share, the operational standards of staff and the implementation of management systems are critical factors that cannot be overlooked. It is recommended that consumers, when choosing milk tea or other catering services, pay attention not only to taste and brand but also to the hygiene conditions of the outlets and whether the service staff’s operations are in compliance, in order to safeguard their own health.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
