Smoking While Barefoot and Stomping on Vegetables... Repeated Hygiene Controversies in Chinese Food Industry

Vegetables Packed Without Washing After Falling on the Floor
Seafood Washed with Industrial Sterilizers, etc.

Consumer outrage is growing after local media in China revealed the unsanitary conditions in which pickled foods are produced, including workers smoking cigarettes and stepping barefoot on vegetables.

On the 15th, Guangdong TV exposed the unhygienic production process at a Suancai (酸菜) manufacturing factory in Shantou, Guangdong Province. Suancai, a type of Chinese pickled food, is made by salting and fermenting mustard greens or napa cabbage with seasonings and spices. Suancai is a popular ingredient enjoyed throughout China and is also exported overseas.

The footage released showed workers smoking cigarettes while handling pickled vegetables on dirty floors in an unhygienic manner. They were seen stepping barefoot on vegetables stored in pickling containers and placing vegetables that had fallen on the floor directly into packaging boxes without washing them. When a reporter asked, "Doesn't your feet hurt when you step barefoot on the pickled vegetables?" the workers casually replied, "You get used to it, so it's fine."

Last year, hygiene controversies also surrounded Chinese pickled foods

A worker cutting vegetables on a dirty floor with a cigarette in his mouth.
[Image source=Yonhap News·Tencent]

Last year, unsanitary production processes at Suancai factories also sparked controversy. At that time, the state-run CCTV exposed the unhygienic environment of a Suancai factory in Hunan Province.

Workers there were seen placing mustard greens or napa cabbage freshly harvested from fields directly into brine without washing them, stepping barefoot on Suancai, and exhibiting other unhygienic behaviors. Notably, some employees discarded cigarette butts anywhere inside the pickling containers. The media also revealed three other Suancai manufacturers with similar production environments.

It was revealed that these companies supplied food products to Kangshifu, one of China’s leading food manufacturers, which led to a boycott movement among Chinese consumers. Eventually, Kangshifu issued a statement and apologized following the broadcast.

Chinese companies wash sea cucumbers and abalones with disinfectants

[Image source=Pixabay]

Hygiene controversies continue in China. On the 14th, the Chinese daily newspaper Xinjingbao reported that a seafood processing company in Dalian, Liaoning Province, washed sea cucumbers and abalones with a disinfectant whose main ingredient is borax, sparking further controversy. Borax is primarily used in industrial applications such as metal processing and glass manufacturing. When ingested, it reacts with stomach acid causing poisoning symptoms including vomiting, diarrhea, erythema, and unconsciousness.

The media speculated that the company used diluted borax solution to wash sea cucumbers and abalones because it makes them appear fresher and more vibrant in color, thereby increasing their market value. The total amount of sea cucumbers and abalones processed by the company reached 5 million kilograms.

Meanwhile, in 2021, a video circulated online showing a man transporting napa cabbage with an excavator and another man without a shirt entering a pit to pickle cabbage, which also sparked public outrage.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.