2nd Chinese city discovers food security problems at some Starbucks shops

A lady leaves a coffee shop of Starbucks Coffee in Beijing, China, July 6,2020 REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo

SHANGHAI, Dec 15 (Reuters) – Market regulators in 8 Chinese cities stated they had actually performed assessments of Starbucks (SBUX.O) stores after the U.S. coffee chain stated it discovered food security problems at 2 outlets in the eastern Chinese city of Wuxi.

The checks followed a regional paper report on Monday that the 2 outlets in Wuxi had actually utilized ended components in their beverages.

Starbucks released a declaration after the report apologising for the offenses and stating it would carry out evaluations and personnel training at its more than 5,000 shops throughout China.

On Tuesday, the Suzhou market guidance bureau stated on its main WeChat account that it had actually checked the city’s 226 Starbucks outlets and discovered concerns at 18 of them, consisting of irregular sales and purchase records, exposed trash can and staff members working without masks.

City authorities likewise performed immediate examine Starbucks outlets in Shanghai, Nanjing, Changsha, Wuxi, Hefei and Yinchuan, according to regional media reports released on Wednesday.

The Shanghai and Hefei regulators stated they had actually not discovered any issues. The others either did not show the outcomes of the assessments or did not discover any food safety-related problems.

A Starbucks representative referred Reuters to the business’s Monday declaration when inquired about the evaluations.

Chinese customers and media have actually ended up being more aggressive about securing client rights and keeping an eye on the behaviour of huge brand names, specifically from overseas.

China is the biggest market for Starbucks outside the United States, with 5,360 shops since Oct. 3, the company’s most current incomes report revealed.

Reporting by Brenda Goh; Additional reporting by Sophie Yu; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Edmund Klamann

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.