SAEDNEWS: Restaurant Chefs in China Sent to Prison for Using Expired Ingredients and Adding Anti-Diarrhea Medicine to Customers’ Meals
According to Saed News, citing Khabar Online, two chefs at a local hotel restaurant in Nantong, China, were sentenced to two years in prison and fined 160,000 yuan ($22,000) for adding anti-diarrhea medication to their customers’ meals.
The fraudulent chefs had been using expired ingredients to prepare dishes for patrons. To avoid detection, they mixed in anti-diarrheal drugs such as gentamicin sulfate.
Gentamicin sulfate is an antibiotic used to treat diarrhea. By adding it to their dishes, the chefs reduced the risk of stomach problems in customers and prevented their scheme from being exposed.
The pair sold at least 1,612 meals containing gentamicin sulfate before being reported by one of the restaurant staff and apprehended by police.
When authorities raided the restaurant kitchen, they discovered around 100 boxes of gentamicin sulfate. Further investigation revealed that the chefs regularly purchased 100 boxes of the drug at a time without a prescription.
According to police, the chefs committed one crime—adding drugs to food—to cover up another: cooking with expired ingredients.
