Chinese Restaurant Employee Caught Scooping Oil from Trash Bin in Shocking Video

A disturbing video has surfaced showing a restaurant employee apparently recycling oil discarded in a food waste bin.

On Thursday, U.S. media outlets reported on the video, which was originally shared by Chinese news site The Paper. The footage, taken on Wednesday, shows the incident occurring outside a pork specialty restaurant in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China.

The video shows a woman, believed to be around 60 years old, wearing a red apron as she approaches the food waste bin. She opens the bin and proceeds to scoop used oil into a container.

The container she holds appears to be filled with floating red oil.

Following the video’s release, the restaurant faced allegations of reusing discarded cooking oil. In response to the backlash, the restaurant claimed that it was investigated for its use of used oil and later disclosed details of how it was handled.

The restaurant stated, “After removing food particles from the oil scooped from the trash bin, we bottled it in plastic containers and sold it to others. The restaurant did not use the discarded oil in cooking.”

As the controversy intensified, it was reported that the Chengdu Food Safety Supervision Bureau quickly launched an investigation into the restaurant’s practices.

Viewers of the video reacted with anger, with many taking to social media to express their shock. Comments included: “Run an honest business. How could they do this in broad daylight?” “The explanation is even more shocking. Are they admitting they sold food waste for profit?” and “I’m afraid something like this could happen to me too.”