Incense, Chili essence and hot pot red are more powerful than "a drop of incense", and cheap hot pot has become a "chemical pot"
The reporter made an unannounced visit to the Nanjing market yesterday and found that a large number of chemical additives were added to the hot pot bottom material, but the regulatory authorities were not very honest.
Chen Yu Zhang Jun
Winter has come, and steaming hot pot has become the "favorite" of many urbanites. But you know what? Nowadays, most hot pots are "chemical pots"! "Not only many shabu-shabu products use additives, but also hot pot bottom materials contain a variety of chemical additives." Industry insiders told reporters.
Isn't red soup and hot pot attractive? Spicy taste and red color are both made of an additive called "Chili essence"; It smells good as soon as you enter the hot pot restaurant, and all the fragrance is added! Yesterday, the reporter investigated the situation of "chemical hot pot" in Nanjing market-
Unannounced visit location: wholesale market
Because winter is the hot pot season, hot pot seasoning has become the protagonist of Nanjing dry goods wholesale market. Yesterday, as a buyer of hot pot restaurant, the reporter made an unannounced visit to several dry goods markets in Nanjing and found that hot pot incense, Chili essence and hot pot red were almost "flooded"-
Flavor is stronger than "a drop of incense"
In a dry goods wholesale market in Xiaguan, Nanjing, the reporter asked at a booth at the entrance if there was anything that could add color and flavor to the hot pot. The boss immediately took out a red bottle marked "Hot Pot Fragrant" from behind the counter and gave it to the reporter. The boss told the reporter mysteriously that this is the necessary "secret" to open a hot pot restaurant, because as long as this flavoring agent is put into the hot pot, it is full of fragrance and makes people have an appetite.
"This is not a drop of incense, is it?" The reporter raised questions. The boss shook his head and said, of course not, this is a new product, much better than a drop of incense. He deliberately pointed to the "QS" logo on the product label to remind reporters: "I know this logo, but it was approved by the Technical Supervision Bureau (Quality Supervision Bureau)."
Seeing the reporter nod, the boss took out two other bottles from behind. The package of one bottle says "Chili essence" and the other bottle says "hot pot red". The boss said that the two products should be used together. The former ensures that you can make the diners spicy enough on the premise of putting less pepper, while the latter can make the spicy pot "red" to almost no spicy oil.
After introducing these three products, the boss patted the reporter on the shoulder and confidently said that as long as he used the reporter's hot pot restaurant, he would know how good these things were. He also took out a stack of receipts from under the counter and proudly said that many hot pot restaurants in Nanjing are his old customers because of the good effects of what his family sells.
The reporter suggested buying a few bottles and taking them back to see the effect. The boss offered 500 grams of chilli essence 25 yuan, 500 grams of hot pot red 35 yuan and 500 grams of flavoring agent 45 yuan. After watching the reporter pay, the boss enthusiastically handed the reporter two other packages, which read the words "king of meat flavor" and "high-flavor essence" respectively. The boss explained that these are all delicious things, and eating them can make people forget.
In the interview, the reporter found that in many dry goods wholesale markets in Nanjing, additives similar to adding color and fragrance to hot pot can be seen almost everywhere. These stall owners pointed to the "QS" brand and vowed that there was no problem.
However, when the reporter looked at the QS certification numbers marked on the three products he bought, he found that although the names of some manufacturers could be found, the QS numbers marked on them could not be found. In this regard, the relevant person in the quality supervision department said that these additives are likely to be "selling dog meat by hanging sheep's heads" and selling them under the banner of regular manufacturers, and the quality is worrying. Chen Yu
Unannounced visit location: farmers' market
The legendary hot pot flavoring agent "flavoring agent" and "pepper essence" whose flavoring ability far exceeds that of "one drop of fragrance" can be bought in Nanjing vegetable market? Yesterday evening, the reporter visited several large food markets in downtown Nanjing.
At about 6 pm yesterday, the reporter came to a large food market near Huaqiao Road in Nanjing. There are six or seven hot pot seasonings in this market, and the business is very good. Hot pot bottom materials with various flavors and packages are placed in a conspicuous position.
At the booth, there are many slogans about hot pot seasoning, such as "National Demonstration Enterprise of Hot Pot Bottom Material Production in Seasoning Industry", "Special Hot Pot Products for China Mountaineering Team" and "From Inner Mongolia Little Sheep Production Base". The price is also reasonable, generally ranging from 3 yuan to 15 yuan. "I buy this seasoning when I eat hot pot at home." A stall owner recommended a bag of hot pot ingredients in red package to the reporter.
Subsequently, the reporter went to a vegetable market near Taiping South Road, where there were many shops selling hot pot seasonings. The reporter asked around, "Is there a more' powerful' seasoning?" During the conversation, a boss who claimed to be surnamed Huang "accepted": "Awesome? Do you want a poppy shell? " The reporter stressed that as long as the seasoning does not need poppy shells, the boss Huang hesitated for a while and asked the opening time and place of the hot pot restaurant before asking "how much?" "What do you have?" The reporter asked. "Titian, there are all colors!" Boss Huang told reporters that selling hot pot additives is illegal and cannot be sold in the market. The reporter learned that the price of the flavoring agent is 30-40 yuan 1 kg, and a small spoon in the pot will have an effect. "Like monosodium glutamate, 1 kg flavoring agent is enough for hundreds of pots for a long time!" You can buy a large bottle of Chili essence around 30 yuan, "1 liter is enough for you". After communicating with the reporter, Boss Huang relaxed his vigilance and left his mobile phone number for the reporter. "If necessary, call home delivery!"
Knowing that the reporter's "hot pot restaurant" is about to open, Mr. Huang also reminded him, "Don't just use chemical additives to make the bottom of the pot. It's best to mix regular seasonings and additives." Mr. Huang said that this can not only ensure the cost, but also ensure the taste of hot pot.
Hot pot industry exposes "domestic scandal"
"These hot pot additives in the Nanjing market should have been well managed." Wang Kai, deputy director of the Hot Pot Professional Committee of the Provincial Catering Industry Association, bluntly said that many hot pot restaurants in Nanjing are using additives to fool consumers.
The owner of a chain hotpot restaurant said: The most common spicy pot is 26 yuan.
"How can merchants treat you to dinner if they don't make money?" In a chain hot pot restaurant on Jiefang Road in Nanjing, the boss reported to the reporter the cost of their hot pot ingredients: the ordinary spicy pot in their store does not add any chemical additives, and the bottom of the pot includes nearly ten natural materials such as pepper, dried pepper, angelica, cinnamon and clove. In terms of cost alone, the bottom of this pot is at least 26 yuan, and their external price is 30 yuan. The boss said that in order to ensure that the bottom material of our hot pot is authentic, their dishes can be discounted, but the bottom pot never gives the price.
In another hot pot restaurant across the street, the bottom of the hot pot is provided free of charge. Under normal circumstances, two people can enjoy it if they spend around 30 yuan. For the low price of the latter, the owner of the previous chain hot pot restaurant does not seem to agree. He calculated an account for the reporter. A hot pot of more than 30 yuan will include seven or eight kinds of dishes, pot bottom, seasoning, labor, gas and other expenses. It is impossible to make money without playing tricks. The most easily fooled is the soup base of hot pot, because nothing else can be discounted or saved. Chen Yu
Mr. Wu opened a shop in Nanjing.
Mr. Wu opened a hotpot restaurant near a university town in Nanjing. Because I am doing a student business, I naturally chose a low-cost route-no money at the bottom of the pot. In this way, you can eat hot pot for tens of dollars, and naturally every meal is full of customers. In the face of reporters, Mr. Wu admits that the "secret" is at the bottom of the pot. "How much good material do you think is free at the bottom of the pot?"
Conscience: Mr. Xu who resigned
Then, how much does it cost to cook spicy soup base with additives? Through a friend's introduction, the reporter contacted a Mr. Xu who had done hot pot business in Nanjing.
Two "pot bottom free" hot pot restaurant owners said: Add essence, hot pot red and poppy powder when cooking butter. ...
Mr. Wu always makes his own hotpot. On the one hand, the secret recipe is kept secret, on the other hand, "to tell the truth, if you know what's inside, you probably won't eat hot pot again."
Mr. Wu said that compared with those "spittoons" and "pig food pots", his base materials are more solid: first of all, Mr. Wu actually bought the base oil for the most important butter and lard at the bottom of the pot. "ShiErSanJin butter probably in 80 yuan, lard is also in 40 yuan. Of course, it will be cheaper to boil oil with beef intestine oil or fat. " Mr. Wu said that the bottom oil is the basis of hot pot bottom material, and some shops do use gutter oil and the like. "But at this level, it is completely black-hearted money."
There is nothing in the base oil, but all kinds of spices. Mr. Wu told reporters that there are more than ten kinds of spices, such as plant essence, hot pot red, flavoring agent, chicken essence, chicken powder and poppy powder. , should be added to his hot pot bottom material. "These are all additives, and they are fragrant when added to the bottom material."
When cooking the base material, you usually need 12 kilograms of butter, add some lard, and add seasoning while cooking. "For example, butter in 80 yuan and lard in 40 yuan, these seasonings also cost thirty or forty yuan, which is not suitable." Mr. Wu told reporters that in the later stage of boiling, all kinds of seasonings should be fished out from the melted oil. After boiling, the cooled oil becomes solid again and is divided into several parts. When guests need it, they can add water and heat it to melt it into a bottom pot, which will soon be served. "Because almost all the seasonings have been fished out, I can't see what is in the bottom material except the pepper powder, Jiang Mo, pepper, watercress and lobster sauce floating on the surface."
That's it. The base material of a pot cooked at home is about 150 yuan, which can be used in Mr. Wu's shop for about a week. "I am a small shop, and it doesn't cost much to calculate the bottom material in a month. Free is free. However, if the store is large, it may be necessary to use waste oil to save on the bottom material. " Zhang Jun
White water can also be "added" to spicy oil without boiling.
Mr. Xu told reporters that he was also a cheap hot pot in his early years. At that time, the hot pot business was particularly good. The cheaper the hot pot, the more prosperous the business. But in the end, the bottom materials of those hot pots were blended, and things like hot pot incense and Chili essence existed as early as a few years ago, but at that time, these additives were still difficult to buy in the market, and they were all wholesale from Sichuan and Shandong. According to his memory, at that time, the cost of a spicy pot bottom was three or four dollars, and then some symbolic and worthless dry goods were put in place, and there was no need to cook at all. Pour some boiling water, add some special additives, and then boil it over high fire. It turns out that the boiled water of glistening will gradually turn into spicy oil soup, which is not only spicy but also attractive, so that it can be served to guests.
But after half a year or so, Mr. Xu felt that the money was really unstable and gave it to others. So far, he still feels guilty because he is really worried about whether these additives are harmful to people's health. Anyway, he and his family never ate hot pot in the shop at that time.
● Special reminder
How to distinguish "plus" hot pot?
At the end of the interview, xu teacher specially asked the reporter to convey several ways to identify the "plus" hot pot:
First of all, don't go to a hot pot restaurant that smells strong as soon as you enter. Because according to experience, the aroma of hot pot is naturally emitted, and it should be more fragrant as it is cooked, while the aroma of hot pot at one end is overflowing, and most of it may be flavored.
Secondly, you can observe the spicy pot bottom supplied by hot pot restaurant. If the spicy oil in the spicy pot looks bright and red, then there must be something hidden in the bottom of the spicy pot: because the bottom of the spicy pot cooked under normal circumstances should be slightly turbid, and the bright spicy pot is obviously added with Chili essence or hot pot red.
● How to supervise?
Food additives are too difficult for me to control?
Are these "hot pot incense", "Chili essence" and "hot pot red" which are easy to buy in the market harmful to people's health? With this question, the reporter dialed the telephone number of the Provincial Quality Supervision Bureau 12365. But to the reporter's regret, after connecting the phone, the other staff admitted that there were too many kinds of food additives, and she could not tell the reporter clearly whether these products were edible.
Then the reporter got in touch with the industry and commerce department. The answer from the industrial and commercial department here is also very frank. A staff member said that as long as it is not a three-no product, the industrial and commercial departments regard the goods being sold in the market as qualified, regardless of whether there is a factory name and address contact number on the product packaging. In other words, as long as there is no problem with the naked eye or no one reports the goods, then they can't stop the operators from selling.
To the reporter's embarrassment, the factory name, address, contact number and product name do exist in the three products purchased, namely Xiangxiang, Hotpot Red and Zanthoxylum Essence, but according to the requirements, the correct QS number should be composed of 12 digits, but these three products are marked with 10 digits.
1 Pot additives: hot pot red, hot pot fragrance, etc. All belong to chemical additives.