A restaurant in China is being investigated over a dumpling-eating challenge that allegedly flouts anti-food waste laws in the country.
According to the BBC, the bizarre challenge of eating more than 100 dumplings in exchange for a free meal and the title "King of the Big Stomach" was given by an eatery in Sichuan province. The rules said that to win, the contestant would need to eat 108 spicy wonton dumplings, known as chaoshous, as fast as they could.
However, according to the outlet, the Chinese authorities said that the viral challenge has "misled" people into ordering excessively, resulting in wastage. Therefore, an investigation has been started by the State Administration for Market Regulation on whether the eatery had breached the law surrounding food waste.
The restaurant in Yibin "demonstrates behaviours of binge eating and drinking and inducing customers to order excessively," said a local market regulator.
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Notably, China enacted laws in 2021 to tackle what President Xi Jinping described as a "shocking and distressing" squandering of food. However, two years on, people in China are still adjusting to the regulations.
But, according to the law, restaurants that "induce or misled customers to order excessively to cause obvious waste" can be fined. Businesses can also collect a waste disposal fee from customers who leave large amounts of leftovers on their plates. The Chinese government has also banned the live streaming of binge eating and competitive eating.
The BBC reported that the restaurant in Sichuan province is one of the several under investigation for violating the laws. A hotel in Fujian province is also being investigated over a contest last March that challenged participants to finish a 3kg burger in 30 minutes.
