Chinese grilled fish restaurant shockingly reuses oil from leftover food
Fragrant and delicious, but even better if someone has spat it out before? It was discovered that a particular grilled fish restaurant in Shenzhen, China had been filtering out the oil from leftover food and reusing it. The owner of the restaurant even claimed that this “saliva-oil” is harmless!
The police had received reports from the public claiming that this grilled fish restaurant named Liang Kou Zi (两口子) was using such disgusting oil. Upon investigation and setting up a raid, the police affirmed that the restaurant was guilty. It was discovered that at the corridor of the second floor, there were two big metal containers, one of which with a filter funnel and a large amount of leftover fish, used tissue paper and other items above it.
Based on the photo from the police, it was apparent that a tube was drawing out the “saliva-oil” from the metal container to the wok containing the grilled fish. The police immediately seized the two metal containers, and took the restaurant owner and a few workers back for interrogation. A dishwasher admitted to witnessing the whole process of producing and using this nasty oil.
Further investigations revealed that one metal container is for the “processed” oil, and the other with the leftover food is for the “saliva-oil” of that night. The chef would wait for the oil to settle before cooking the oil until all water has evaporated. Then, he would scoop the oil into another big metal container and let it settle for 24 hours. By adding in the spices and using this recycled oil with fresh oil, customers are unlikely to notice any difference.
The police concluded that Wang, in an attempt to reduce cost, instructed the chef to recycle the oil for cooking, and even insisted that the oil was harmless. But reports have shown that this “saliva-oil” contains microbes, including germs and viruses. As the process of making this oil is not advanced enough, it is impossible to clean the oil of harmful substances, and will bring about detrimental effects to people’s health.
Currently, the grilled fish restaurant has ceased operations and the restaurant owner Wang and the chef Lee were apprehended. Their neighbouring store owner, who also frequented the restaurant, commented that the restaurant’s business was good, and you can even catch a whiff of the grilled fish from miles away.
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