Vegetarian hot pot labeling unclear; lamb, chicken, beef and pork hot pots contain no meat; 60% of commercially sold hot pot soup bases fail standards
The Food and Drug Administration investigated 54 commercially sold hot pot soup bases (powders), of which 32 products had labeling violations, including exaggerated advertising, for example "Ageless Pot" cannot actually make a person ageless. The second issue was mismatched labeling: mutton hot pot contained no mutton, ginger duck contained no duck, tonkotsu white broth contained no pork, and stewed chicken and shiitake mushroom broth contained no chicken, yet the vegetarian Nanyang curry pot contained animal ingredients. The third issue was that ingredients were not all fully listed. The businesses will be required by law to make corrections. (For the detailed list, please see the attachment at the end of the article.)
Zheng Weizhi, section chief of the FDA's Food Division, said this operation was carried out using a "secret shopper" method, meaning instead of having health authorities conduct inspections directly, schools were commissioned to purchase products on the market under the name of an academic survey, then return to the laboratory to check them, and the results were handed over to the Ministry of Health and Welfare for handling. When necessary, health authorities would send personnel to inspect again.
This round of sampling tested 54 commercially sold packaged hot pot soup bases (powders), and a total of 32 did not comply with regulations. Of these, 18 products did not list their ingredients in detail, 16 products had product names that did not match their actual nature, 5 products had product names that did not comply with the regulations on "labeling packaged foods claimed to be vegetarian," and 1 product carried a claim that was exaggerated or likely to cause misunderstanding.
Hot pot is a dining style that people love in winter. Hot pot types are diverse and their ingredients are complex. The FDA reminds the public that when buying products such as hot pot soup bases, they should carefully choose products with complete labeling and try to cook with fresh ingredients. When enjoying hot pot, one should eat a balanced diet, consume broth in appropriate amounts, pair it with seasonal vegetables, and reduce the intake of high-fat meats, so as to lighten unnecessary burdens on the body and ensure healthy eating.