Workers at two popular restaurant chains in China were caught on secret video using leftover food scraps and handling meals with dirty hands, according to a report.
Man Ling restaurant, which has more than 1,000 locations in China and markets itself as ‘healthy’, apologized to the public after the scandalous video appeared.
The South China Morning Post reported on Wednesday that staff filmed leftover food to cook congee – a classic Chinese rice porridge – as well as other riotous practices. They are also trapped and place their unwashed hands on the garbage.
According to the report, one employee even plucked pork ribs from a pot of leftover soup and used it to cook Chinese yam and meatloaf for other meals.
“Yes, it’s left over,” a Man Ling worker told Fujian Television’s secret reporter when asked if there was any food safety issue.
“It’s OK to cook again.”
Known for its cheap offering, Man Ling sells more than 180 million bowls of congee each year, according to one app for analyzing food orders.
The store in Fuzhou, in southeastern China, was closed earlier this week after the scandal. The chain apologized on Monday for the disappointment of its customers, according to the South China Morning Post on Monday.
Sanmi Congee, another well-known chain restaurant with more than 1,100 stores across China, has also been investigated and exposed for employing people without a health certificate and similar unhygienic practices at one of its stores in the city.
Sanmi Congee, another popular chain with more than 1,100 establishments across China, was also exposed in the secret report that they hire people without a health certificate and similar unhygienic practices at one of its restaurants in Fuzhou.
It issued a similar mea culpa a day later and on Tuesday acknowledged the ‘hygiene and safety hazards’ revealed by the secret reporter. The store was also closed and was removed from online programs, according to the report.
Both brands are owned by separate companies in Shanghai and have recently seen a boom in the business world due to their cheap offering amid the food delivery craze.