In recent days, due to mold issues, China’s popular Ma Six Ji sour and spicy noodles have been taken off the shelves at all Costco stores. The subcontractor, Sichuan Baijia A-Kuan Food Company, has admitted that a lack of sterilization during the production process led to bacterial contamination in a specific batch, triggering a quality crisis. This incident has exposed deep-rooted problems in China’s food safety and quality control related to the “OEM manufacturing” model.
According to a report by Sina Finance on August 6th, the Ma Six Ji brand has been embroiled in a food safety scandal recently. Consumers in cities like Shenzhen, Shanghai, and Ningbo took to social media to complain about Ma Six Ji sour and spicy noodles (270g/bucket, 8 buckets/case, priced at 65.9 yuan) sold at Costco, which were found to have turned white and moldy.
Subsequently, Costco nationwide has urgently removed the product from its shelves, and the timeline for resuming sales is yet to be determined. The person in charge at Costco stated that due to quality fluctuations discovered during routine inspections, sales were voluntarily suspended, and the time for reintroduction is still uncertain. The Costco app currently does not display the related product.
Prior to this, the subcontracting company, Baijia A-Kuan Food, released a statement on July 27th confirming that the issue was concentrated on sour and spicy noodles of 270g produced on June 16th and June 18th, attributing it to inadequate sterilization during production leading to bacterial contamination and mold growth. The company has initiated a comprehensive recall of the affected products, covering the return costs and compensating consumers as per national regulations.
Ma Six Ji issued an apology statement on July 28th, promising to cooperate with the investigation but did not directly respond to questions from a reporter, raising doubts among consumers about its crisis management abilities.
Ma Six Ji sour and spicy noodles are operated by Beijing Shitongda Technology Development Co., Ltd., with Wang Xiaofei as the chairman. The brand became popular quickly in November 2022 due to the buzz around Wang Xiaofei and his ex-wife, Barbie Hsu, leading to a significant increase in sales.
The recent complaints about mold in Ma Six Ji sour and spicy noodles are not the first quality issue the brand has faced. During the “3.15” period in 2023, China Food Safety Net reported that Ma Six Ji marketed “sweet potato noodles” but actually contained lower-priced cassava starch and fern root powder, along with aluminum ammonium sulfate, misleading consumers into thinking the product was healthier.
As a major subcontractor, Baijia A-Kuan Food provides OEM production for Ma Six Ji, supplying 270g (for Costco exclusive) and 256g specification sour and spicy noodles. According to Baijia A-Kuan Food’s financial report, Ma Six Ji’s procurement amount increased from 50.3451 million yuan in 2022 to 201 million yuan in 2024, becoming its largest client.
The complaints against “A-Kuan” are recorded on the Black Cat Complaints Platform, involving 705 incidents, including glass shards found in sour and spicy noodle vinegar packets in May 2025, mold in “Xiao Xian noodles” in April, and rubber bands mixed with mashed potatoes in July 2023, indicating that Baijia A-Kuan Food’s quality control issues are not isolated cases.
Established in 2016, Baijia A-Kuan Food primarily focuses on instant noodles, vermicelli, and other convenience food products. Its 2024 financial report explicitly mentions that the production process involves multiple steps where quality control points are prone to negligence. In the current mold incident, Baijia A-Kuan Food acknowledged the “inadequate sterilization process,” confirming the food safety risks mentioned in their financial report.
Public records show that apart from its own brands “A-Kuan” and “Baijia Chenji,” Baijia A-Kuan Food also provides OEM services for other brands like Li Ziqi, Baicao Wei, and Three Squirrels.
This “multiple-brand parallel OEM” model implies that when there are oversights in Baijia A-Kuan Food’s sterilization process, leading to mold in Ma Six Ji sour and spicy noodles, the food safety issue is not limited to Ma Six Ji but extends to multiple brands sharing the same production line, highlighting a chain of risks.
The “OEM manufacturing” model is a globally prevalent business approach that prioritizes efficiency, allowing brands to focus on marketing, design, and distribution while outsourcing production to others.
The mainland media outlet, Huxiu, believes that many brands prioritize traffic and marketing rather than manufacturing, leading to a lack of production supervision in their organizational structure. It questions whether what consumers believe to be Ma Six Ji noodles is merely an OEM “blind box.”
China has experienced multiple food safety scandals, from melamine to gutter oil, and now moldy Ma Six Ji noodles. The frequent occurrence of quality issues in Chinese food raises the question of whether it is a management problem or has deeper underlying causes.
Chinese issues expert Wang He told Epoch Times that as a brand outsourcing manufacturing, Ma Six Ji should demand strict product quality control from subcontractors and oversee it. With varied quality standards among subcontractors in China, brands need to have stringent criteria while choosing them. This is the first step to ensuring product quality.
Wang He explained that foreign companies have a rigorous process when outsourcing to China, requiring high certifications and standards throughout the process to integrate them into their supply chain.
Wang He emphasized that at a deeper level, manufacturers must respect consumer sovereignty, strict government oversight is essential, and open public scrutiny is necessary to address issues efficiently. In China, these conditions are not entirely met, leading to long-standing food safety problems.