In Zhangzhou City, Fujian Province, a street vendor selling braised products was detained for using compound licorice tablets as an ingredient in their braising sauce. This incident made headlines on August 26.
According to the Zhangzhou Municipal Market Supervision Bureau of the Chinese Communist Party, on August 24, Chen, who operates a braised meat business in the city, used compound licorice tablets in the braising liquid for products such as pig intestines, pork bellies, and offal. This led to the braised meat containing components like morphine, codeine, and tetracaine. The vendor purchased and used 400 compound licorice tablets with sales exceeding 1 million yuan.
In June 2025, Chen was criminally detained.
Some netizens pointed out that such incidents are common in the Chinese catering industry. “Simo1030” stated, “So in some places, hotpot and braised dishes really need strict inspections. Many of their base seasonings could be shut down, probably because they can’t withstand inspections. So even if they taste good, moderation is necessary, not excessive.”
Another netizen, “凌熊熊辰02M,” remarked, “This seems quite conscientious; compound licorice tablets are much better than those chemical additives.”
In China, the use of various additives in food production, even industrial additives that may harm health, is not uncommon. Many seemingly delicious foods rely on a large number of additives to enhance their appearance, aroma, and taste. Bright beef, refreshing tripe, fragrant soup, and savory hotpot dishes are often claimed to be made from “fresh ingredients,” “authentic flavors,” and “pure brewing,” but in reality, additives are the “masterpieces.”
Chinese self-media personality “養心小築” revealed on Sohu that these additives include sunset yellow, adding half a spoonful of which to braising liquid can make braised meats like roast chicken and pork head meat shiny and with a reddish glow. So-called authentic meat broths cooked from beef bones or whole chickens are often made with complex flavor enhancers like beef essence and hot water. Additionally, some harmful industrial raw materials, such as hydrogen peroxide and borax, are used to soak pig intestines and beef tripe to remove odors, add elasticity, and promote expansion. However, these substances pose serious health risks to consumers. Improper use of sodium nitrite in dining establishments is also quite common. Although sodium nitrite is only permitted for use in curing meat products, many restaurant operators add it illegally to enhance the color, texture, and shelf life of the meat, despite its strong toxicity and carcinogenic properties.
According to the mainland media outlet “36Kr,” in November 2024, in the 1980s, China had only a few dozen additives in total, but now there are over 2,400 food additives in China.
A report released by the China Business Industry Research Institute titled “In-Depth Investigation of the Chinese Food Additive Market and Research on Investment Risks from 2024 to 2029” shows that from 2019 to 2023, the total production of major types of food additives in China increased from 12.69 million tons to 16.11 million tons, with an average annual compound growth rate of 6.15%.