Wagas fined over carrot cake

A Wagas outlet on Xizang Road S. has been fined 50,000 yuan (US$7,269) by Huangpu District's market watchdog for selling carrot cake online without permit.

It was selling the item via food delivery platform Meituan but didn't have a permit to sell it online, according to the district's market regulation administration, and was in violation of China's online food safety regulations.

In a separate case, the Shibo Avenue branch of Xibei Restaurant, a traditional northwestern cuisine restaurant, in the Pudong New Area, was fined more than 420,000 yuan for operating without license for four days and having expired food ingredients.

The restaurant opened in January before it had obtained a food operation license, and the period lasted for four days with sales totaling 125,437 yuan, according to the Pudong New Area's market regulation administration. 

During inspections, officials also found expired carrots, potatoes and cabbages in the restaurant's refrigerators.

In another case, the Ruihong Road outlet of hotpot chain Laowang in Hongkou District was fined 50,000 yuan after its youtiao (fried dough stick) was found to contain excessive aluminum potassium sulfate.

Excessive amounts may affect intelligence and lead to dementia with long-term excessive intake, experts say.

The Xianxia Rd W. branch of Zuoting Youyuan, a beef hotpot chain restaurant, was fined 10,000 yuan by the Changning District watchdog after tests showed its freshly squeezed watermelon juice had excessive bacteria.

The outlet stopped sales of all freshly made juices after the incident and has rectified the problem, according to the administration.