Recently, a safety accident occurred at a food processing factory in Heping County, Beihai City, Guangxi, where it was rumored that a worker fell into a mixing machine and the mooncakes produced had already entered the market. Local officials tried to dispel the rumors by stating that the accident happened when they had not started producing mooncakes yet. However, netizens questioned, “If they hadn’t started production, how was the machine running?”
A screenshot of a chat conversation circulating online claims that a worker in Heping County, Beihai City, Guangxi, fell into a mooncake machine and it took several days before it was discovered that the mooncakes made were already sold out.
The whistleblower also attached a screenshot from the official website of the Heping County government, showing that on September 8, the county’s emergency office held a county-wide “2025 Food Processing Enterprise Accident Alert Education Meeting,” reporting a mechanical injury accident that occurred at a local food enterprise on September 6, and requiring all enterprises to learn from the incident.
This news quickly spread on mainland Chinese social media, causing concern among the public about buying the wrong mooncakes.
Multiple Chinese media outlets reported on the incident on September 29. According to The Paper, when contacted the Heping County Emergency Management Bureau, they stated that the official announcements to be released in the future should be followed for accurate information.
Further attempts were made by Jiemu News to contact the Heping County authorities. The county’s emergency office neither confirmed nor denied the incident, simply stating that it was “under processing” and advised the media to rely on official announcements. The Heping County Food Safety Committee confirmed that an accident did occur on the 6th but claimed the online rumors were “false information.”
Red Star News cited the Heping County Emergency Office’s “preliminary investigation results” stating that at the time of the accident, the enterprise had “not yet started producing mooncakes,” and following the incident, the enterprise “was ordered to halt production for rectification and has not resumed production to this day.”
On the afternoon of September 29, the Heping County authorities issued a statement regarding the incident, refuting the rumors circulating online about a worker in a mooncake factory falling into a machine and mooncakes being sold out. The investigation concluded that the related rumors were entirely false and misleading to the public.
The statement revealed that at 10:56 am on September 6, during the equipment testing process at Pu Yuan Feng Food Co., Ltd in Heping County, a safety production accident occurred where an employee accidentally got dragged into a flour mixer resulting in severe injuries and fatality despite rescue efforts.
Moreover, the incident report clarified that at the time of the accident, the company had not yet commenced mooncake production. Following the incident, the company was promptly ordered to halt production for rectification and has not resumed production since, dismissing the online circulation of events as untrue.
However, some netizens expressed skepticism and mockery, questioning the timing of the incident overshadows the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival on October 6. They found it hard to believe that no mooncake production had started on September 6, stating that “it’s hard to believe.”
According to public information, the mooncake brands produced under Pu Yuan Feng Food Co., Ltd in Heping County include: Zhu Xing (Heping Zhu Xing Mooncake), Beibu Bay Zhangji Hanlu Huangji series. Consumers were advised to take note.
On September 29, Nandu Net reported that the “2025 Food Processing Enterprise Accident Alert Education Meeting” mentioned by netizens could no longer be found on the Heping County government’s official website. Additionally, a post relating to the same subject on the “Beihai Emergency” public account had been deleted by the publisher.