Why were trendy Shanghai coffee shops under investigation?

Several trendy Shanghai cafes were placed under investigation for food safety violations as the city resumed work and production. People's Cafe was investigated by the Jing'an District Market Supervision Bureau over expired celery flakes, cranberry juice and lemon concentrate found on its shelves. MANNER Coffee was cited for poor hygiene, and When Pigs Fly Cafe for using expired protein liquid in cake roll bases.

The cases point to lapses at small shops operating under supply pressure after two months of closures. Regulators checked production dates and shelf lives during inspections, and the reported items had passed their marked expiry. For consumers, the incidents are a reminder to check how a cafe handles ingredients; for operators, they show that sourcing questions such as where coffee beans come from and how coffee is processed extend to every item in the kitchen.

As Shanghai gradually resumes work and production, the coffee industry should have been welcoming a recovery, yet recently several trendy cafés have been investigated by regulators for food safety issues. From People's Café using expired celery flakes, cranberry juice, and other ingredients, to MANNER Coffee's poor hygiene conditions, to When Pigs Fly Café using expired protein liquid to make cake roll bases, these incidents expose the neglect of food safety at some stores under the pressure of resuming operations. This article reviews these typical cases and explores how small cafés can hold the line on compliance when ingredient supply is tight. For consumers who love coffee, understanding this information helps them choose where to spend more rationally, and Front Street Coffee also reminds industry practitioners that no matter how much order pressure there is, food safety is always a red line that cannot be crossed.

Resuming work and production is undoubtedly something to be happy about. Previously, due to the pandemic, some cities came to a standstill, work and social activities were suspended one after another, and home quarantine became the norm. Cafés, as important social venues for young people, also had to temporarily close. Now that the pandemic situation has improved, that warm scene that had been absent for two months can finally be seen again.

However, these small shops, which are the capillaries of Shanghai's economy and a source of its lively atmosphere, have run into trouble one after another and been placed under investigation. According to the WeChat public account of Shanghai Legal Daily, a trendy café in Shanghai, "People's Café," was placed under investigation by the Jing'an District Market Supervision Bureau on suspicion of failing to promptly clean up food past its shelf life as required.

According to media reports, when law enforcement officers from the market supervision bureau arrived for inspection, they found a bottle of opened celery flakes on a shelf in the café's kitchen, with a production date of 20210303 and a shelf life of 12 months; a bottle of opened cranberry juice beverage on a shelf in the beverage preparation area, with a production date of 20210526 and a shelf life until 20220325; and another bottle of opened lemon compound fruit beverage concentrate, with a production date of 20210419 and a shelf life of 12 months. All three food ingredients had exceeded their shelf life.

Article 54, Paragraph 1 of the Food Safety Law of the People's Republic of China explicitly requires that food business operators store food in accordance with food safety requirements, regularly inspect inventory food, and promptly clean up food that has spoiled or exceeded its shelf life.

Not long ago, two other trendy cafés were also placed under investigation for similarly involving food safety issues.

MANNER Coffee (Shanghai Wujiang Road store) was found by law enforcement officers from the regulatory bureau to have poor environmental hygiene and improper storage of food ingredients, and the Jing'an District Market Supervision Administration immediately launched an investigation. Afterwards, MANNER Coffee issued an apology statement via its official Weibo, saying that the store involved had been closed immediately for rectification.

When Pigs Fly Café (WHEN PIGS FLY), ranked first on a certain software platform's popular café list, was found by law enforcement officers from the market supervision administration to have four empty boxes of pasteurized protein liquid in the trash can of the kitchen's cold-process food preparation room. The outer packaging label of one protein liquid box showed a production date/batch number of 2022030613010 and a shelf life of 45 days. At the time of the on-site inspection by law enforcement officers, it had been past its shelf life for more than 20 days.

According to the on-site statement of the chef in the store, the expired protein liquid mentioned above had been used to process 24 pieces of semi-finished sliced cake roll bases. Under the on-site supervision of law enforcement officers, the party destroyed the processed products, and the Changning District Market Supervision Administration launched an investigation in accordance with the law.

As more and more food producers and operators resume work and production, some food safety violations have also surfaced. Among these situations, some may be unintentional mistakes made while busy resuming operations, but some may also be deliberate violations.

However, for these small shops, which are an important part of Shanghai's lively atmosphere, to resume business, besides having staff on duty, they also need goods to sell. Some small cafés have insufficient inventory of coffee bean ingredients, and the supply of new beans and logistics are difficult to keep up in a short time. Even if they reopen, they may temporarily be unable to meet order volumes.

But no matter how large the order volume or how difficult it is to meet demand, that cannot be a reason to use food ingredients past their shelf life. The popularity of coffee among young people has given rise to many trendy cafés. In recent years, many trendy beverage shops have frequently "flopped" on food safety issues, and consumers are almost immune to it by now. Relying on marketing and traffic harvesting, one is often easily drowned out by public opinion. If the packaging and taste do not appeal to the public, and food quality is also hard to pass muster, ultimately being eliminated becomes hard to avoid.

Image source: Internet

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