BEIJING, December 13 (TMTPOST) －International coffee chain giant Starbucks is now under fire in China for food safety issues after state-owned media outlet Beijing News reported that two of its outlets in Wuxi sold expired food to customers.

The food safety issues were discovered by Beijing News through an undercover investigation. The two outlets’ food safety violations include using expired ingredients in products and selling expired products after tampering with their expiry date, according to the Beijing News report. All the violations were known beforehand to the managers at the two outlets.

A reporter of Beijing News found that the two Starbucks outlets would use expired ingredients to make popular drinks and sell them. When there was too much black tea or matcha left, the staff would change their expiry date and continue to use it, Beijing News reported. Starbucks’ black tea and matcha expire in one day. It is reported that the managers at the two outlets not only knew the situation but also taught the staff how to change the ingredients’ expiry date.

Starbucks confirmed the report and apologized on Monday for the matter, saying that the company takes the violations seriously and will work to ensure food safety.

Wuxi’s city-level and district-level market regulation departments investigated the reported violations at the two Starbucks outlets. Initial investigation concludes that the staff at the two Starbucks outlets did change food ingredients’ expiry date and use expired ingredients. The authorities have ordered the two Starbucks outlets to suspend operation to rectify their operation.

Wuxi’s market regulation department also conducted food safety investigations at other 82 Starbucks outlets in the city. The investigation found 15 problems, including failing to wear disposal caps when making food and incomplete disinfection records.

The city’s market regulation department had summoned Starbucks China for an administrative interview and required the company to perform an internal assessment of food safety.

China is the biggst market outside the United States for Starbucks. The company’s 2021 fiscal report shows China contributed US$3.674 billion to its revenues, registering year-on-year growth of 42.29%. Starbucks China has opened 5,358 outlets in 208 cities in China, including 654 last year. Outlets in China accounted for 31.27% of the coffee chain’s total outlets across the globe.

Starbucks’ share price slumped by 0.5% in pre-market trading on Monday and closed at US$115.56, showing a 1% decrease.