Chapter 82

Chapter 30: The Filter Powder Fiasco

Director Zhao's hatred for Lin Feng was indescribable, but what made him even more embarrassed was that he was about to lead a large group of people to inspect the frying oil at McDonald's and KFC. This would only make things worse for him.

If the inspection had found problems with the frying oil at Lin Feng's Qidian Fast Food, and then they inspected McDonald's and KFC, the comparison would have proven that McDonald's and KFC were superior in food safety. However, since no issues were found at Qidian Fast Food, the inspection would lack a basis for comparison. Even if Director Zhao had no business acumen, he understood that this would be like giving Lin Feng free advertising.

When the news spread, people would not say how safe and considerate McDonald's and KFC's frying oil was, but rather that Lin Feng's Qidian Fast Food's frying oil was just as good as that of a Fortune 500 company.

Thinking of this outcome, Director Zhao felt frustrated. Leading such a large group of people to end up giving Lin Feng free advertising made him extremely uncomfortable.

Sigh, forget it, just consider it a bad year. — Director Zhao consoled himself and led his subordinates towards McDonald's and KFC.

However, at this moment, not only the health bureau employees followed him, but also a large number of onlookers. They had just seen Director Zhao inspect Qidian Fast Food and found no issues, so they were curious to see if there would be any differences when inspecting McDonald's and KFC.

Seeing the crowd behind him, Director Zhao couldn't say much. He was just a health bureau director and had no authority to disperse the crowd.

If you want to watch, go ahead; you won't see anything anyway. — Director Zhao no longer cared and let the crowd follow.

Unfortunately, he underestimated Lin Feng and overestimated McDonald's and KFC's "attention" in certain areas, which was destined to make him unlucky this time.

On his way to the flagship store of Qidian Fast Food, Lin Feng contacted the "Chutian Style" program team. Lin Feng was now very familiar with the hosts and photographers of the "Chutian Style" program. A phone call, and Wang Yun, upon hearing about the health bureau's inspection of Qidian Fast Food's frying oil, immediately came over. However, at Lin Feng's request and due to the chaotic scene, Wang Yun decided to take covert photos and did not reveal her identity immediately.

Regardless of the final inspection results, this was a news hotspot. Especially with Qidian Fast Food's recent popularity and the attention it received from the public, this was a very hot topic. Of course, as a friend, Wang Yun hoped that Lin Feng's fast food store would pass this "challenging" inspection.

When Qidian Fast Food passed the inspection, Wang Yun breathed a sigh of relief. After all, this was a local industry, and if it failed the inspection, it would be a fatal blow. Fortunately, the result pleased the majority of people.

Then, Director Zhao was forced to inspect the frying oil at McDonald's and KFC, which piqued Wang Yun's interest even more. She had known Lin Feng for some time, and her journalistic instincts told her that there was something mysterious about Lin Feng's strange smile. She naturally wouldn't miss this opportunity and followed Director Zhao and his team closely, entering KFC with two staff members.

The owner of the KFC franchise in Chushi, surnamed Ma, was a local and a neighbor of Director Zhao's classmate. He had asked Director Zhao to investigate the frying oil issue at Qidian Fast Food. He didn't believe that Qidian Fast Food could offer such cheap burgers without any problems with the frying oil. Otherwise, how could they make a profit!

At this moment, when Mr. Ma saw Director Zhao leading a group of people in, he was stunned. He guessed the reason for Director Zhao's visit. Could it be that the frying oil at Qidian Fast Food was不合格, and he came to share the good news? No, even if he wanted to share the news, he wouldn't do it so obviously. Any intelligent person would see through it, and Director Zhao wasn't that stupid.

As Mr. Ma continued to guess, Director Zhao explained his purpose, and Mr. Ma's face turned green. He never expected Director Zhao to come and inspect his frying oil.

"Director Zhao, this is KFC, a Fortune 500 company. How could there be any problems with the frying oil!" Mr. Ma blocked Director Zhao with an unfriendly expression.

Looking at the crowd behind Director Zhao, Mr. Ma didn't think they were there to eat; they were definitely there to watch the spectacle. Thinking of this, he felt bitter. He had just given Director Zhao a big red envelope yesterday, and today he was being investigated. This was just making things difficult for him!

Director Zhao knew he was being a bit too much, but he was forced to come and inspect. Moreover, with so many people watching, he couldn't avoid it.

Seeing Director Zhao's determination, Mr. Ma had no choice but to step aside. After all, his frying oil had no problems, so he wasn't afraid of the inspection. He was just annoyed by the whole situation.

Soon, the inspectors came out, but the results made both Director Zhao and Mr. Ma's faces change. The instruments clearly showed that the frying oil at KFC contained "arsenic," a carcinogen, at 9-11 times the allowed limit, which was absolutely unacceptable.

The crowd immediately started to protest. A Fortune 500 company, and the frying oil contained carcinogens? This was a disregard for customer safety.

Especially after the inspection of Lin Feng's Qidian Fast Food, which found no carcinogens in the frying oil, the comparison was clear.

"This is impossible, impossible! The frying oil we use is filtered with filter powder, which absolutely meets the national food safety standards. There's no way it could contain carcinogens," Mr. Ma said, not believing it. He couldn't believe that a Fortune 500 company like KFC could have such issues. He was very clear that if this news broke, it would have a significant impact on his business.

But as he spoke, the crowd erupted in shock again!

Filter powder, which many people in the crowd didn't know about, but from the name, it was clearly some chemical substance. Lin Feng's Qidian Fast Food, run by a local, didn't use anything, and the frying oil contained no carcinogens. Here, they used filter powder, and it still contained carcinogens. The comparison was shocking!

Filter powder is a commercial name used in the food industry, with the chemical name "magnesium trisilicate." The Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives has clearly stated that "magnesium trisilicate" can be used as a food processing aid.

Its main function is to reduce the acidity, peroxide value, color, odor, and heavy metals in frying oil, effectively "polishing" the oil to make it clear and bright, like new oil, thus extending the life of the cooking oil.

(However, some experts believe that "magnesium trisilicate" can cause digestive issues such as indigestion and diarrhea, and may also lead to kidney stones, fainting, and magnesium blood disorders, causing heart rhythm abnormalities or mental symptoms.)

But the fact that carcinogens were found in the frying oil that used filter powder was a mystery to the technicians behind Director Zhao. Regardless, the presence of carcinogens in the frying oil was a fact that could not be disputed.

What made Director Zhao even more worried was whether the frying oil at McDonald's would also contain carcinogens. What if it did?

Cold sweat broke out on Director Zhao's forehead. He knew that the owner of the McDonald's franchise in Chushi was a relative of his superior. If something went wrong, how could he explain it?