Two Pizza Hut outlets in Beijing’s Fengtai and Haidian districts have been closed due to food safety concerns, as reported by Nikkei Asia on July 22. According to an undercover report, the two outlets continuously reused cooking oil and placed fake expiration dates on food products. On the same day of the reporting, the Haidian market regulator swiftly investigated 45 Pizza Hut locations in the district. Yum China [9987:HK], the exclusive operator of Pizza Hut in China, stated that it has closed the two outlets pending an internal investigation. The corporation also operates other major American fast food chain restaurants in China, including KFC and Taco Bell.

Pizza Hut has operated in China for over three decades, opening its first location in Beijing in 1990. According to. Yum China’s 2021 annual report, by the end of 2021, there were over 2,500 Pizza Hut outlets in more than 600 Chinese cities. In recent years, Pizza Hut has received multiple administrative fines for breaches of food safety. The restaurant was fined RMB50,000 (USD7406) by Chinese regulators in March and similarly warned by Shanghai officials in August 2021 for using expired ingredients.

Sources:

https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Companies/China-regulators-probe-Pizza-Hut-stores-over-food-safety-violations

https://www.sohu.com/a/570388880_362042

https://www.sohu.com/a/569692314_260616