Figure: Figure worm
On December 13, a media report about Starbucks caused social concern.
According to the report, the reporter found many food safety problems in the undercover investigation of two Starbucks stores in Wuxi City, such as continuing to use the ingredients after expiration, making a variety of best-selling drinks for sale; supervisors and clerks "teaching by example" to tamper with the shelf life, some ingredients were artificially "extended" for a week; and cakes that promised to "not stay overnight after opening" were secretly put on the shelves the next day...
Starbucks routinely uses expired ingredients?
According to media reports, in late October this year, some media reporters were hired to work in the Wuxi Starbucks Zhenze Road store. However, soon after the reporter took up his post, he found that the ingredients were still used after expiration.
Ingredients such as chocolate liquor, matcha liquor, black tea liquid, cream and other ingredients have passed the shelf life, but the clerk has not scrapped it, and still uses them to make drinks for customers.
Pictured: Video screenshot
When the reporter who secretly visited reflected the expiration of the ingredients to the store duty supervisor, the duty supervisor instructed the reporter to continue to use these expired ingredients.
In order to "cover" the use of expired ingredients, the shelf life labels of some ingredients are often tampered with at will.
The undercover reporter went undercover in the Starbucks Wuxi Changxing Building store and found that the cocoa fragments in the store had expired, and the supervisor did not scrap it after finding it, but tore off the shelf life label and directly replaced it with a new label. When the pastries are sold, the clerk will sneak the leftover pastries from the previous day on the counter.
The reporter went undercover for many days and found that the above chaos is not accidental, driven by interests and regulatory omissions, some stores follow the "unspoken rules" of food safety. The clerk even said that this practice seems to have become a "routine operation": "These stores in Wuxi are actually like this, they are all similar, the above is like this, generation after generation, the master and the apprentice are brought this way, it does not matter." ”
The report also mentioned that in terms of hygiene, there are problems such as using bar towels to wipe garbage cans in the store, and dealing with problematic ingredients in advance to cope with inspections.
The store in question has been temporarily closed
Regulators have stepped in
According to Modern Express, at about 1 p.m. on December 13, the Wuxi Starbucks Zhenze Road store was closed, and a notice of closure was posted on the glass of the gate, which read, "The store is temporarily closed today, and we apologize for the inconvenience we have caused you..."
At another Starbucks Wuxi Changxing Building store, an administrative law enforcement vehicle was parked at the entrance, the door had been locked from the inside, and there were clerks and law enforcement officers talking.
Law enforcement officials said an investigation into the matter was underway.
According to China Economic Network, the Wuxi Xinwu District Market Supervision and Administration Bureau has conducted on-site investigation and evidence collection of the exposed stores, and will publish the details of the investigation according to the situation.
Starbucks responded: Deeply shocked
At noon on December 13, Starbucks China's official Microblog posted a message saying it had followed reports of two Starbucks stores in Wuxi, and said it was "shocked" but did not apologize for the incident.
"We are deeply shocked by the food safety issues covered in the report. We are highly concerned about this incident, and have closed these two stores at the first time and immediately launched an in-depth investigation. ”
Many stores around the world have repeatedly exposed food safety problems
"In the 22 years since entering the Chinese market, we have been committed to implementing strict food safety standards and resolutely adopting a zero-tolerance attitude towards food safety issues." This is a passage from Starbucks' latest response.
In addition, Starbucks has more than 5,100 directly operated stores in more than 200 cities in China, and also gave a commitment on its official website: "Based on the highest industry standards, starbucks food safety gold standards are formulated and strictly implemented."
Pictured: Starbucks official website
But how does Starbucks do it? In addition to the above-mentioned secret interviews found that the use of expired ingredients seems to have become a "routine operation", looking at past reports, this is not the first time Starbucks has been exposed to food safety problems.
According to the enterprise investigation APP, Shanghai Starbucks Coffee Operation Co., Ltd. has been subject to many administrative penalties in recent years.
On November 24 this year, Starbucks Coffee (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. Yantian Yihaicheng No. 2 Branch was administratively punished by the Yantian Supervision Bureau of the Shenzhen Municipal Market Supervision Administration for food violations.
Hubei Starbucks Coffee Co., Ltd. Changde Wanda branch was fined for operating expired food.
In addition, Chengdu Starbucks Coffee Co., Ltd. Chongqing Commercial Building Branch and Chongqing City Balcony Branch have been sued for product liability disputes.
Source | Modern Express, China Economic Network, enterprise investigation, public information
This issue is edited by Xueying Liu