Zhangliang Spicy Hotpot, a renowned spicy hotpot chain in China, has apologized and vowed to take more measures after it was revealed that some of its "mutton rolls" actually contained pork
The incident came to light on Thursday, when a Douyin user nicknamed Hou Da Wan posted a video claiming that he bought three boxes of mutton rolls weighing about 500 grams in a chain store in Sanhe city, Hebei province, for a total of 54 yuan ($7.5).
However, after being tested by a local testing agency, it turned out that the mutton rolls actually contained pork and duck meat, despite the employees of the chain store claiming that the rolls were from the supplier designated by the food chain itself and were 100 percent mutton.
This revelation caused quite a stir on social media, with many people questioning the food safety of Zhangliang Spicy Hotpot and accusing the company of fraud.
In response to the backlash, Zhangliang Spicy Hotpot issued an announcement on Friday, admitting that the mutton rolls in question were purchased by the franchise store in Sanhe city from a private supplier, not through the designated mutton supplier of the brand.
The announcement also said that the franchise store had violated certain regulations by purchasing ingredients from unauthorized suppliers, and that it would be punished accordingly.
On Monday, Zhangliang Spicy Hotpot issued a second announcement, providing more details about the incident.
The announcement said that the franchise store in Sanhe city had purchased a total of 10 kilograms of mutton rolls in three separate batches last month, at a wholesale price of 50 yuan per kilogram.
However, after examination, it was determined that the mutton rolls contained pork and duck meat.
The announcement said that the store in question had purchased the ingredients at market price, genuinely believing they were purchasing authentic lamb rolls. There was no intention to deceive customers.
Nevertheless, in order to rectify the situation, the store has removed all the ingredients that they bought in private from the shelves. Even though the franchise qualification has been retained, their security deposit has been forfeited by the food chain.
The announcement emphasized that this incident is a wake-up call for other stores in the Zhangliang Spicy Hotpot chain.
In addition, the announcement expressed the willingness to welcome and encourage consumer's supervision and feedback. Any individual who discovers food quality issues in any Zhang Liang Spicy Hotpot franchise store is encouraged to report the matter directly to the headquarters.
The announcement said that the brand sincerely apologizes to the customers for any inconvenience and assured them that it will continue to work diligently to prevent similar incidents from happening again.
As for the two announcements, the Douyin blogger, who unveiled the fake mutton rolls, said in his latest video on Monday that he will keep an eye on the food chain, and may send more ingredients to testing.
