objection, you know? Disposable chopsticks also have a shelf life. The relevant state departments have long stipulated that disposable chopsticks should be marked with the expiration date. Generally, the shelf life of disposable chopsticks is up to 4 months, and expired chopsticks are easy to carry all kinds of germs. The reporter's investigation found that the packaging of disposable chopsticks in some restaurants, fast food restaurants and wholesale stores in Shenzhen was hardly marked with the shelf life, and most merchants and consumers were unaware of it. To this end, the municipal health supervision department reminds consumers that disposable chopsticks should be used as little as possible. Reporter's investigation: Most restaurants provide disposable chopsticks. At 12: 11 noon yesterday, the business of Jingtian Food Street was still booming, and diners used disposable bamboo chopsticks. After the reporter went in and sat down, the waiter brought bowls, teacups and a pair of disposable chopsticks wrapped in white paper sets. The reporter took a look at the chopsticks and saw the red "disposable advanced sanitary chopsticks" printed on the front of the chopsticks, but there was no factory name and production address on the packaging sleeve, not to mention the shelf life. The reporter opened the chopstick cover and saw a black mold at one end, and hurriedly called the waiter to replace it. But the other pair still has brown spots. "Are there any sterilized chopsticks in the shop?" The reporter asked. "Yes, but many guests don't want to use sterilized chopsticks, and they all require disposable chopsticks." After the waiter finished, he brought a pair of sterilized chopsticks to the reporter. Later, the reporter went to a seafood restaurant in Huaqiang North and saw that the store provided a set of sterilized tableware, but when the reporter asked for disposable chopsticks, the waiter turned around and took out several pairs of disposable chopsticks from the workbench next to him without saying anything. Although the name and contact number of the restaurant are printed on the disposable chopsticks sleeve, there is no expiration date. In the previous investigation, the reporter found that the places with the largest supply of disposable chopsticks are all kinds of fast food restaurants and snack stalls. The reporter saw in the fast food restaurants in Dongmen and Huaqiang North Business District that most of the disposable wooden chopsticks provided in the store were wrapped in a simple plastic sleeve with the words "disinfected, safe and hygienic" printed on it, and then placed in a bobbin on the dining table. Many plastic sleeves of chopsticks were cracked and the wooden chopsticks were exposed. The disposable chopsticks of some fast food restaurants outside the special zone are put in a package without packaging, and customers can take them for themselves. The sanitary condition is really difficult to reassure. Wholesale market: Chopsticks have no manufacturer and shelf life. As for the source of disposable chopsticks, the reporter learned in the interview that most national chain fast food restaurants are mainly responsible for regular delivery, and the longest time is changed to half a month. The supply source of chopsticks in individual restaurants is generally the wholesale market. In a store specializing in tableware wholesale in Dongmen, the reporter saw pots, bowls, ceramics, cookers, etc. piled up on various shelves, and disposable chopsticks in plastic bags piled up in a corner. These chopsticks are poorly packaged, so customers can choose one at will and throw it back into plastic bags. A worker in the shop is putting a coat on each pair of chopsticks with a transparent plastic bag. "These are all from Jiangxi wholesale, and it will be better to sell them in packaging." "Have you sterilized the chopsticks here? Why is there no shelf life? " The reporter asked. "Must be sterilized, do chopsticks have a shelf life?" The staff member answered with a smile. The reporter saw in several tableware wholesale shops nearby that although all the operators claimed that their chopsticks came from Jiangxi and Zhejiang provinces, and there were specialized manufacturers of production and disinfection, there was no clear date of production and related information printed on the packaging of a pair of chopsticks. The owner of a large-scale wholesale store told reporters that the general restaurant is a tree brand, and most of them choose bare chopsticks, and then customize the coat with the name and phone number of the restaurant. However, fast food restaurants and food stalls generally buy disposable chopsticks with simple packaging, or buy bare chopsticks to use directly. Operators and diners: Most restaurant operators don't know that chopsticks also have a shelf life. Boss Huo of a Hakka restaurant in Nanhai Avenue told reporters that he has been engaged in catering for more than 11 years and has never heard that disposable chopsticks have a shelf life. Usually, when the relevant departments come to check, they only check the food hygiene or tableware hygiene of the restaurant, rarely check disposable chopsticks, and never ask to check the shelf life of chopsticks. "I have never heard that chopsticks should be marked with a shelf life. Generally, they are used directly when they are taken." Mr. He, who dined in a fast food restaurant on News Road, told reporters that when he went out to eat, he would take the initiative to ask for disposable chopsticks. "Still use disposable chopsticks to rest assured, how do I know how to disinfect other chopsticks? It is impossible to bring chopsticks from home to eat out every day. " Mr. He said helplessly. When interviewed by reporters, many diners said that they had never paid attention to the shelf life of disposable chopsticks, nor did they know that chopsticks should be marked with shelf life. Many diners said that the hygienic status of disposable chopsticks is worrying, but they can't find a better substitute when eating out. □ Tips: The shelf life of disposable chopsticks is up to 4 months after disinfection. The reporter saw in the "National Standards of the People's Republic of China" that the standard has long stipulated bamboo and wooden chopsticks, and each box of products should be marked with the name of the manufacturer, the date of manufacture, the shelf life and so on. The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) promulgated in 2116 also clearly pointed out that the minimum packaging unit of disposable products should indicate the shelf life of the products. The staff of the Municipal Health Supervision Office revealed: "The shelf life of sterilized disposable chopsticks is up to 4 months. Once the shelf life has passed, it is likely to contain yellow staphylococcus and Escherichia coli." The staff of the Municipal Health Supervision Office reminded consumers that disposable chopsticks, if they have non-wood spots, are wet, deformed or have obvious sour taste before being used, are all signs of pollution, and you must never use them. □ Expert opinion It is best to use disposable chopsticks less. "Every procedure in the production of disposable chopsticks has hidden concerns, and sanitary chopsticks are difficult to ensure hygiene." According to Dong Jinshi, vice-chairman of the Plastic Recycling Committee of China Plastics Association and secretary-general of Beijing Environmental Protection Tableware Joint Organization, the production process of disposable chopsticks is roughly divided into three steps: the first step is bleaching, in which the residue of chemicals should be controlled within a certain limit, and some producers will add a large number of fungicides with pesticides as raw materials without authorization. The second step is drying. The talcum powder itself is easy to induce gallstones, and the heavy metals contained in talcum powder can also cause damage to human blood and nervous system. In the third step of polishing, some producers will use industrial paraffin containing carcinogen polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Dong Jinshi said that the major production province of wooden chopsticks is Heilongjiang, and bamboo chopsticks are mainly produced in Hunan, Jiangxi and other places. During the investigation, they also found that some irresponsible manufacturers used snakeskin bags and pesticide bags for packaging and delivery, and the pollution of packaging and along the way threatened the hygiene of chopsticks. Dong Jinshi said that disposable chopsticks are very harmful to the environment and unsanitary, so I hope everyone will use disposable chopsticks as little as possible when eating out. Disposable chopsticks account for 11% of wood consumption. According to the survey, there are thousands of enterprises producing wooden chopsticks in China at present, which consumes nearly 5 million cubic meters of wood resources every year. The annual felling of forest trees in China is about 47.58 million cubic meters, and these chopsticks account for 11.5%. A tree that has been growing for 21 years can only be made into 6111-8111 pairs of chopsticks. China produces 11 million boxes of disposable chopsticks every year, of which 6 million boxes are exported to Japan, South Korea and other countries. China's forest coverage rate is less than a quarter of that of Japan, and the forest stock is reduced by 2 million cubic meters every year for the production of disposable chopsticks.