'Looking Around Nearby...' Controversy Over Employee Urinating in Raw Materials of Qingdao Beer

Video Presumed to Be Internal Footage Spreads on SNS
Consumer Outcry Grows... Public Security Also Investigating Amid Controversy
Qingdao "Considering Possibility of Manipulation"

A video showing a man urinating on the raw materials at the Qingdao Beer production plant, one of China's four major beers, has sparked controversy.

According to local media such as Hongseong Newspaper on the 21st, a video was posted on Weibo on the 19th showing a man entering the malt storage area, the raw material for beer, at Qingdao Brewery Plant No. 3 in Pingdu City, Shandong Province, and urinating there.

In the video, presumed to be filmed inside the factory, the man wearing a helmet and work clothes climbs over a shoulder-high wall exposed on all sides and enters the area where the raw materials are piled up, then looks around and urinates.

The video ranked high on Weibo's real-time search on the 20th, immediately triggering a flood of consumer outrage. There are growing calls to investigate the facts, strictly punish those involved, and establish measures to prevent recurrence.

Qingdao Beer, along with Xuehua, Yanjing, and Harbin beers, is considered one of China's four major beers. It was founded in 1903 by Germans and British in Qingdao, which was then a German concession.

A man urinating on malt at Qingdao Brewery Plant 3
Photo by Hongseong Newspaper capture

The Qingdao Beer Plant No. 3 in Pingdu, Qingdao City, increased its annual beer production from 750,000㎘ in 2018 to a global scale of 1.2 million ㎘ last year through continuous expansion. However, this incident has raised suspicions about lax product management, putting the brand at risk of significant damage including image loss and sales decline.

In response, the factory launched an investigation. The Pingdu City Market Supervision Administration, which oversees the plant, stated, "We have formed an investigation team and started the inquiry, sealing all raw materials at the related factory," adding, "If confirmed, strict punishment will be imposed according to the law."

As the controversy grew, local public security authorities also began an investigation. Qingdao Beer stated, "We reported the matter related to the video to the public security authorities and an investigation has begun," and added, "We will strengthen continuous management to ensure product quality."

However, the factory also noted, "Due to poor video quality, it is difficult to determine authenticity based on the footage alone," suggesting the possibility of manipulation.

Meanwhile, China experienced the "Melamine Scandal" in 2008, where milk powder containing the harmful chemical melamine was distributed, resulting in at least six infant deaths and affecting 300,000 people. In 2020, a famous hot pot restaurant in Sichuan was caught reusing leftover food by adding seasonings and boiling it to make so-called "sewage cooking oil."

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