Why does food safety matter more than ever for coffee quality?
MANNER Coffee's Wujiang Road store in Shanghai was found during a surprise inspection to have substandard environmental hygiene and non-compliant food storage, and was placed under investigation on May 23. On May 24, MANNER apologized on Weibo, saying the store had immediately suspended operations for rectification.
The apology cited improper handling of raw milk held at 2°C to 6°C and failure to promptly clean the backing paper of extra food-safety seals during the supply-guarantee delivery period. Some consumers and industry observers said the response avoided core hazards such as floor grime possibly contaminating food, leaving the boutique coffee model facing a quality and food safety test.
As Shanghai gradually resumes production and daily life, being able to get a takeaway coffee right outside the door has become a small blessing for many. However, the MANNER Coffee store on Wujiang Road in Shanghai was found in a surprise inspection by market regulators to have problems including substandard environmental hygiene and non-compliant food storage, and was placed under investigation on May 23, quickly sparking heated discussion online. On May 24, MANNER's official Weibo posted an apology, admitting that during the supply-guarantee delivery period there were oversights such as improper handling of raw milk and failure to promptly clean the backing paper of extra food-safety seals, and saying the store involved had immediately suspended operations for rectification. But some consumers and industry experts questioned the apology as glossing over the key issues, saying it failed to directly address core hazards such as floor grime potentially contaminating food. As the pioneer of the domestic boutique coffee shop model, MANNER is now facing a dual test of quality and food safety on the coffee track crowded with cross-industry giants.
Many people are happy about the resumption of work and production. After being confined at home for many days, achieving coffee freedom is no easy thing, and if there happens to be a coffee shop near home that is open and offers delivery, that is extremely lucky. However, MANNER Coffee (Shanghai Wujiang Road store) was found during an on-site inspection by law enforcement officers from the Jing'an District Market Supervision Administration to have poor environmental hygiene and food stored without following regulations. The store was subsequently placed under investigation on May 23, and related topics topped Weibo's trending searches.
On May 24, MANNER's official Weibo posted an apology letter in response. In its response, MANNER said it sincerely apologized to consumers for failing to promptly and properly handle 2°C to 6°C raw milk and failing to promptly clean the backing paper of extra food-safety seals during the supply-guarantee delivery period at its Shanghai Wujiang Road store on April 30. The store involved closed immediately for rectification after receiving the notice. Although the store suddenly saw a surge in delivery orders that day, the greater the order volume, the more it is necessary to uphold the high standard of "bringing high-quality coffee into everyone's life."
Some netizens said this apology letter seemed to suggest the company believed its product quality was very high.
In this apology, MANNER was accused of glossing over the key issues. Zhu Danpeng, a researcher at the China Brand Research Institute, told a Securities Daily reporter that the company's attitude has major problems, and judging from the response, the company was trying to use the tactics of shifting concepts and glossing over the key issues to cover up problems in management and operations.
The Shanghai Municipal Market Supervision Administration issued a notice on May 22: Recently, law enforcement officers from the Jing'an District Market Supervision Administration found during an on-site inspection of Shanghai Yinhe Industrial Co., Ltd. Wujiang Road No. 1 Store (MANNER COFFEE) that the store had poor environmental hygiene and stored food without following regulations.
At the scene, law enforcement officers found that in the store's food handling area, discarded paper scraps and stickers from food packaging were scattered on the floor, the floor had grime, and packaged food bags waiting for sale were placed directly on the ground, posing a contamination risk; two boxes of the food ingredient "Meiji Milk" that require refrigerated storage were casually placed on the store floor after being opened. In addition, law enforcement officers saw seven boxes of unopened "Meiji Milk" placed on the ground outside the store entrance, and store staff had not stored them refrigerated at 2°C-6°C as required by the product label.
However, in MANNER's official Weibo response, it did not mention food-safety hazards such as raw milk not being used according to storage conditions and floor grime potentially contaminating products, replacing them only with "failure to promptly and properly handle 2°C-6°C raw milk and failure to promptly clean the backing paper of extra food-safety seals," and was accused of glossing over the key issues.
MANNER is a chain coffee brand founded in 2015 and takes pride in pioneering domestic boutique coffee shops. However, the coffee track is hot, and many industry giants have entered the coffee circle to compete one after another, with PetroChina, China Post, Tongrentang, Li-Ning and others all making cross-industry moves.
Against such fierce competition, if MANNER wants to maintain its advantage and expand further, in addition to product and service quality, food safety is the most important and also the most fundamental.
Image source: Internet
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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
