Recently, multiple food delivery stores in mainland China have been exposed for having “transparent kitchens” that are merely a facade, with surveillance cameras only capturing the floor, walls, or dining areas. Among them, a hotpot restaurant in Changsha, Hunan, with monthly sales of over 3000 orders, which was recently inspected by the platform, was found to have a greasy kitchen and mice infestation.
According to Chinese media reports on October 4th, the “Shu Duofu” hotpot restaurant in Changsha has a rating of 4.5 stars, ranking first among local hotpot businesses, and the platform page even notes that the restaurant was “inspected by the platform in the last 30 days”.
Despite claiming to have a “transparent kitchen”, the cameras only captured the floor, cardboard boxes, and table legs, without showing the food processing or utensil disinfection processes.
During an on-site visit, it was found that food ingredients were exposed and placed haphazardly, with potatoes and raw meat placed side by side in the refrigerator, miscellaneous items mixed with rice and cooking oil. A mouse was seen running from the kitchen into the refrigerator.
The owner claimed that the presence of mice had been noticed for a while, they had attempted to catch them twice but failed, and since then, no further action had been taken. He also mentioned that cockroaches and other pests were common in dining establishments and there was no need to deal with them specifically.
The investigation involved 15 dining establishments in Changsha, Wuhan, and Lijiang, Yunnan, that were marked as having “transparent kitchens”, with 14 of them having incomplete surveillance coverage of key areas such as cutting and cooking areas, and cleaning and disinfection areas. Additionally, 6 establishments were labeled as “dine-in”, but they only operated for takeout.
In Lijiang, a congee shop with a monthly sale of 8000 orders that operated all day had its surveillance camera pointing at the price list, while the kitchen had an open garbage bin. Another grilled fish restaurant had food ingredients placed next to shoes, and the containers used for storing food were dirty.
In Wuhan, a frog leg restaurant and a beef rice restaurant shared the same kitchen and surveillance screen. The footage shown in the frog leg restaurant was of the beef rice heating area, and customers could not witness the processing of frog legs.
The owner of the Changsha hotpot restaurant mentioned that capturing about 30% of the kitchen area on camera was sufficient, as businesses mainly connect to surveillance cameras to obtain platform recognition, which would reassure consumers when they see the emblem.
A staff member in Lijiang also stated that the cameras only needed to face cleaner, occupied areas or focus on the serving and other corners, rather than capturing the actual core areas of the kitchen, as this would still pass the platform’s inspection.
Investigators posed as merchants and consulted Meituan, Taobao Flash Sale, and JD.com. Meituan customer service stated that installing cameras and maintaining connectivity was sufficient; Taobao Flash Sale mentioned that being able to see the serving environment was enough. JD.com stated that they would conduct regular spot checks but did not specify the exact timing or implementation details.
Chen Yinjiang, Vice Chairman of the Beijing Food and Drug Safety Law Research Institute, stated that businesses displaying the “transparent kitchen” symbol while avoiding crucial kitchen areas on camera could mislead consumers. Platforms should not only showcase the emblem without verifying the actual footage.
The related news has sparked criticism from netizens. One netizen mentioned that many stores on Taobao Flash Sale with the “transparent kitchen” logo had videos that were black screens or failed to load, and the feedback did not yield results.
One commenter expressed, “Not all purely takeout establishments can be said to be of such poor standards, but it’s safer to avoid eating there.” Another person stated, “It’s all just deception and scams! Cherish your life and try to avoid eating outside as much as possible.”
Another netizen questioned, “What use is a transparent kitchen if the heart is not pure? With a dark heart, one can still operate in the shadows even under the bright daylight.”