Pizza Hut should honor the trust it enjoys

An undercover investigation by bjnews.com.cn, the website of a Chinese daily, has exposed a variety of food safety violations by Pizza Hut.

Working as undercover employees at two Pizza Hut outlets in Beijing, the reporters found that the restaurant was using ingredients past their use-by date and even recycling cooking oil.

Consumers have reasons to be furious, as they were being served what should have been disposed of. Staff members at the outlets were even replacing the labels mentioning use-by dates with new ones giving a later date.

This is not the first time that Pizza Hut has got embroiled in food safety issues. In March, the administration had imposed a 50,000 yuan ($7405.88) fine on another Pizza Hut outlet for the same reason — using expired ingredients.

Since opening its first China outlet in Beijing in 1990, Pizza Hut has grown to become the leading Western casual dining restaurant brand in China, both in terms of sales and number of restaurants. By the end of March, the chain had over 2,600 branches in more than 600 cities across the country.

Given the way the chain is growing in China, it should take prompt action against the violations to honor the trust it enjoys among consumers here.

Pizza Hut responded to the sting operation on Wednesday, saying it had launched its own investigation. The administration for market regulations in Beijing’s Fengtai district also visited the outlets in question for further investigation.

According to Dianping, a restaurant and store-rating platform, an average person visiting a Pizza Hut outlet spends anything from 80 to 100 yuan, which is not less compared to other fast food chain stores. Consumers, thus, deserve to be treated fairly and served food that meets hygiene and safety standards.

Food safety cannot be overlooked. Individuals at all levels of the food supply chain should do their job responsibly. We hope there are no such issues with Pizza Hut again.

The author is a writer with China Daily.