Findings that may put you off your food when you order lunch online
Print Edition
GONE are the days when people swarm out of office blocks for a quick bite at lunch.
In Chinese cities today, busy office workers have their meals delivered after a few simple touches on a smartphone. The process takes a few minutes, and who can resist a good online discount?
The marriage of a fledgling mobile Internet industry with the Chinese love for food has created an explosion in online catering businesses over the past two years. Hundreds of thousands of dishes are now a swipe away on the three dominant delivery platforms — Meituan Waimai, Baidu Waimai, and ele.me, or the “Big Three.”
But do the mouth-watering pictures on the phone match the sanitary conditions we expect? Recent investigations by media outlets reveal worrisome findings.
In theory, online catering platforms require restaurants to post pictures of their business license and health certificates online where customers place their order. While most comply, some flounder and post blurred or fake images.
There are around 58,000 eateries in Beijing offering food delivery services on the three dominant platforms, plus a minor one named Daojia, Li Jiang, an official with the Beijing food and drug safety watchdog, said. District food safety watchdogs conducted regular raids to ensure everyone played by the rules.
While the authorities have not yet received any reports of major food safety cases, there are unverified comments left on these platforms complaining about diarrhea and worse.
Other media outlets have exposed appalling scenes. A City Times reporter found that flowing sewage, thick oil stains, leftovers, and scattered chop sticks were a common scene at a popular hotpot restaurant in the southwestern city of Kunming.
The restaurant had been open for only five months and had positive online ratings, listing ahead of 77 percent of its competitors.
Few customers bother to check restaurant licenses before ordering.
Crackdown on eateries
“To be honest, I only pay attention to ratings and other customers’ comments,” said Ma Juan, a Beijing office worker.
China had 688 million Internet users by the end of last year, with more than 90 percent using smartphones.
A recent report by think tanks FutureX and the Data Center of China Internet showed that around 150 million Chinese used online catering services as of June. The figure rose by 32 percent in six months and continues to grow.
The country has strict food safety regulations, but the proliferation of kitchens and restaurants riding the e-commerce boom makes supervision more difficult.
Last year, the national legislature amended its seven-year-old Food Safety Law, adding provisions to govern online vendors.
A report by the Ministry of Commerce in September said around 8,000 unlicensed online eateries were ordered to close in just two weeks in late August to early September, after an unannounced citywide food safety inspection.
An anonymous worker at one of the “Big Three” said many vendors simply reopen on rival platforms, a phenomenon that discourages platforms from closing down “problem” vendors, especially the popular ones.
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