Introduction:With frequent food safety issues in the new-style tea beverage industry shaking consumer confidence, HEYTEA has proactively released its November self-inspection report. The report discloses specific hygiene risks and immediate corrective measures at eight of its nationwide stores, while also detailing its routine disinfection and water/ice quality control processes. This article breaks down the key points of the report, showing how tea beverage brands can rebuild trust through transparent management, as well as what hygiene details should be routinely monitored at stores.
Over the past year, the new-style tea beverage industry has been plagued by recurring food safety scandals — from contaminated ingredients to unhygienic operating environments. Numerous chain brands have been exposed for hygiene violations, leading to declining consumer trust in the cleanliness of “hand-shaken drinks.” Against this backdrop, HEYTEA chose to voluntarily publish its November Food Safety Action Report, providing a detailed disclosure of self-inspection results across its national stores. This includes specific issues found at eight locations and the corrective actions taken, as well as the disclosure of routine management details such as disinfection procedures and water/ice testing. Can this approach of “exposing its own shortcomings” set a new standard for the tea beverage industry?
Over the past year, negative news about hygiene in freshly made tea beverages has emerged one after another. Well-known chain brands have frequently been involved in food safety incidents, causing consumers to question the overall cleanliness management of the industry. HEYTEA, which had originally planned to go public, has also seen its timeline delayed, with investors adopting a more conservative stance. Although some brands have pledged improvements after these incidents, similar problems have recurred — even growing more severe — leading the public to form the perception that “apologies are useless.”
In response to public concern, HEYTEA published its “November Food Safety Action Report” on official channels that same day. The report opens by stating that the company is continuously optimizing its food quality control system, emphasizing full-chain management from ingredients to the final served product. The report lists issues found during the month-long self-inspection at eight stores, including the mixing of food-contact tools with non-food tools, blackened and moldy refrigerator door seals, failure to immediately reseal opened juice containers, rust on ice-making tools, and malfunctioning fly and pest prevention equipment. Each case specifies that the store was immediately required to rectify the issue, followed up with subsequent re-inspection results.
Beyond individual case handling, HEYTEA also revealed the routine hygiene measures implemented across its national stores: hiring professional pest control companies on a monthly basis to conduct comprehensive prevention and treatment, with targeted solutions for common pests such as mosquitoes, cockroaches, and rodents; performing daily water and ice quality tests before business hours to ensure compliance with safety standards before beverage preparation begins. In November, it also commissioned a third-party authoritative institution to conduct sampling tests on water and ice at stores in 39 cities, using data to substantiate the effectiveness of its management.
This “self-exposing” report has earned praise from some consumers — compared to the traditional approach of “apologizing then fixing,” HEYTEA has demonstrated concrete corrective actions and systematic control processes, further ensuring beverage hygiene. Industry insiders believe this move may encourage other tea beverage brands to follow suit, and in the coming months we may see more chain operators publishing annual or quarterly food safety reports.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
