How Do Molded Coffee and Coffee Bean Mold Relate to Yihutang Safety Failures?

Undercover investigators in Zhengzhou found serious food safety violations at several Yihutang tea beverage stores. Ingredients that should have been discarded at closing were reused the next day, expired items had labels swapped to extend shelf life, moldy strawberries were washed and used in drinks, and insects fished out of toppings or prepared drinks were removed while the drinks were resealed and sold.

Staff were indifferent, with one saying that as long as a drink does not kill anyone it is fine, and employees handled fruit without required gloves. After the reports, Yihutang apologized and the stores involved were closed for rectification. Lawyers said the actions violated multiple provisions of the Food Safety Law, and the case echoes wider concerns about molded coffee, coffee bean mold, and franchise oversight.

The well-known tea beverage brand Yihutang has been exposed by media undercover investigations at multiple stores in Zhengzhou for serious food safety issues: ingredients that should have been discarded after closing were used again the next day, expired ingredients had their labels swapped to extend shelf life, moldy strawberries were washed and used as normal, flying insects that fell into toppings were fished out and still used in drinks, and even drinks that were found to contain bugs were re-sealed and continued to be sold. Even more shocking, the staff were indifferent to this, claiming "as long as it doesn't kill anyone." After the incident was exposed, Yihutang issued an apology statement, and the involved stores were closed for rectification. Lawyers pointed out that the relevant actions have violated multiple provisions of the Food Safety Law. Netizens reacted differently, with some saying that chaos in franchise stores is common, while others called on the brand to effectively fulfill its supervisory responsibilities.

Recently, China Quality News Network received a tip-off from an informant claiming that some Yihutang stores in the Zhengzhou area have serious food safety hazards. Subsequently, the media arranged investigators to go to the sites for an in-depth understanding.

Video footage taken by investigators shows that multiple Yihutang stores in Zhengzhou engaged in various violations: ingredients that should have been discarded at closing the previous day were used again the next day, ingredients past their shelf life had labels changed to extend their use period, fruit that had already molded was still used to make drinks, flying insects that fell into toppings were merely fished out and then continued to be used, after flying insects were found in prepared drinks the seal was torn open, the insects were removed, and the drinks were re-sealed and sold, employees did not wear gloves as required when handling fruit, flies crawled freely at the spout of tea buckets, and so on. Regarding these actions that could endanger consumer health, the staff were not only unconcerned but even said things like, "For drinks given to customers, as long as it doesn't kill them, it's fine."

Starting on April 5, the media successively dispatched multiple investigators to work in stores designated by the informant. Among them, the Zhongmu Babai Sha store was still using various ingredients on April 6 that should have been scrapped at closing on April 5, including orange slices, red beans, Hongyu milk tea, mochi, fruit juice, taro balls, and more. These ingredients were wrapped in plastic wrap by the staff and kept for continued use the next day. On April 7, investigators found flying insects in the coconut jelly that had been sealed in plastic wrap on April 6 at the store, but the staff said they could just fish them out and keep using it.

On April 9, investigators found at the Xinzheng Yuanling Middle School store that a box of opened milk had two labels attached: the first showed an expiration date of April 11, while the second extended the expiration date to April 14.

The store also had a portion of beef jerky, produced on February 23 with a shelf life until March 25, but it was still being used for orders until April 12. Faced with this situation, the staff told the investigator, "It's fine, it won't kill anyone," and another staff member nearby echoed, "Customers, what's there to be afraid of?" The investigator retorted: "You don't dare taste it yourself, but customers aren't afraid of dying, right?" The staff responded affirmatively. On April 12, the investigator saw flying insects in the jelly food at the store, and the staff similarly said to just fish them out.

On April 9, investigators found at the Changge Wenhua Road store that after seeing strawberries that had already molded, the staff did not discard them but continued to wash and use them, claiming that cake shops need good strawberries, but for milk tea shops, usable ones are enough. The next day, the investigator saw strawberries covered in white fuzz in the refrigerator, and the staff still said they could be used and told the investigators to put the strawberries back in the storage box and refrigerator.

On April 18, investigators found bugs in grapefruit, and the staff routinely said to just fish them out. That evening, the investigators saw bugs in a prepared drink, and the staff directly opened the seal, fished out the bugs, changed to a new cup, re-sealed it, and continued to sell it, all in one smooth motion.

In addition, in the investigators' video, the Changge Wenhua Road store had even more astonishing practices. Flies acted as if they were back in their own home in the store, leisurely lingering at the tea bucket spout, occasionally warming themselves near the sealing machine, or replenishing sugar at the mouths of ingredient bottles.

Store personnel did not wear gloves when cutting fruit; they grabbed lemon slices with bare hands and put them into cups; peeled watermelon fell onto rags or into very dirty and messy sinks, and the staff picked it up without washing it and directly put it into boxes for storage; grapes were also not washed and were directly placed on rags and peeled without gloves. The staff also said that customers only eat the flesh inside, so there is no need to wash them.

In addition, the store's staff would place the tea boiling bucket directly on the cutting board used for fruit, put their phones on the fruit-cutting cutting board to scroll through videos, and work as usual without a health certificate. These hygiene issues that directly affect consumer health and are of a very serious nature seemed trivial in this store.

After the incident was exposed, Yihutang quickly posted an apology statement on its official Weibo, stating that it had required the involved stores to close immediately and rectify, actively cooperate with local market supervision department inspections, and seriously punish the relevant responsible persons for inadequate supervision of stores in the Henan region.

A lawyer pointed out that the exposed stores violated Article 33 of the Food Safety Law: "Food production and operation shall comply with food safety standards and meet the following requirements: having production and operation equipment or facilities suitable for the variety and quantity of food produced or operated, and having corresponding equipment or facilities for disinfection, changing clothes, washing, lighting, ventilation, anti-corrosion, dust prevention, fly prevention, rat prevention, insect prevention, washing, as well as treating wastewater and storing garbage and waste; having full-time or part-time food safety professional and technical personnel, food safety management personnel, and rules and regulations ensuring food safety."

At the same time, these stores also violated Article 45 of the Food Safety Law: "Food production and operation operators shall establish and implement a health management system for employees. Persons suffering from diseases that hinder food safety as prescribed by the health administrative department of the State Council shall not engage in work that comes into contact with directly edible food. Food production and operation personnel engaged in work that comes into contact with directly edible food shall undergo an annual health examination and may only take up their posts after obtaining a health certificate."

Netizens reacted relatively calmly to this exposure. Some believed that most franchise stores are like this; others pointed out that these practices were clearly required by franchise store managers, and the employees were merely executing them, so the brand should not be blamed entirely; many netizens also hoped that the brand could strengthen management of franchise stores, after all, Yihutang is a favorite of many students.

Although the behavior of these employees largely stemmed from the decisions of franchise store managers, Yihutang, as the brand owner, only collects franchise fees and other material fees but failed to fulfill its supervisory duties, and therefore also needs to bear legal responsibility. As netizens said, food safety is by no means child's play, and licensing out a brand does not mean one can wash one's hands of it. This is because what is affected is not only brand reputation and consumer health, but also public trust in the entire industry.

Image source: Sina News, Hemiao Finance

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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.