An unfortunate incident in two separate branches of Qingfeng Steamed Bun in Beijing triggered the suspension of their operations.
Online posts of a small dead cockroach found in a steamed bun and a couple of aphids (a kind of small insect) that came out from a vinegar container sparked criticism, reported China Digital Times.
One female customer, who uses the online name Bieliwo5596167393, posted online on Sept. 14 her picture holding a steamed bun with a small dead cockroach on it. The bun was from Qingfeng’s Hongcheng Guotai branch in Beijing’s Shunyi District.
Another Qingfeng customer, who uses the online alias Danger_kid, took a picture of what he believed as “dregs of vinegar” containing two aphids and posted it online on Oct. 15. It happened in Qingfeng’s Haidian District branch near the Dahui Temple in Beijing.
The company behind the Qingfeng Steamed Bun chain of restaurants publicly announced on Oct. 18 through its microblog that two Beijing-based outlets would “suspend operations” due to “violated food safety regulations,” according to Want China Times.
That same day also, the company conducted food security check in all its 300 outlets, 262 of which are in Beijing and the rest found in the provinces of Liaoning, Heilongjiang and Jilin.
The company will also get the services of China Certification & Inspection Group (CCIC). According to its official website, CCIC describes itself as “an independent third party certification and inspection organization dedicated to providing inspection, verification, certification and testing services.”
The Qingfeng Steamed Bun gained unexpected media exposure in Dec. 2013 when President Xi Jinping lunched in one outlet in western Beijing on Dec. 27.
President Xi lined up at the counter; ordered six pork buns, one dish of fried pig liver and one vegetable dish; and paid 21 yuan in cash, reported The Atlantic.
After the country’s official news agencies confirmed that the picture of the president paying for his lunch at Qingfeng posted online was genuine, scores of people lined up in the same outlet ordering the same food the president had.
China Youth Daily reported that it is common in Chinese-operated restaurants to be hit with issues related to food safety. It said that their foreign counterparts have “higher management standards.”