Never Ever Ever Eat Shanghai Street Food! Ever.

I am not one who is easily put off food, and I have happily munched on Shanghai street food in my time. However, what I saw tonight has definitely put an end to that.

Sabrina and I were walking home from Huahai Rd and were cutting through the back streets near Xintiandi when we saw two people standing in the middle of the road with a man hole cover removed from the sewer.  I didn't pay them any mind at first because it is a common site to see people cleaning out the traps in the sewers with buckets on long poles.

However, I soon realised that it was dark (7.30pm) and they weren't in the normal sanitation workers blue uniforms.

As we neared I saw it was woman reaching down into the man hole with a long handled pole. The man was standing over watching. Neither were in uniform.

This piqued my curiosity so I watched what they were up to. She pulled the long handled pole up out of the hole and I could see the the small bucket on the end filled with a thick whitish semi solid gloop. It was after the second bucketful that she pulled out when the horror of the situation hit me - they were scooping fat (oil, lard whatever) out of the sewer!

Where we were was in an area awash with small street eateries. These eateries would have large amounts of oils & fats go down their sinks everyday during cooking and cleaning. Where this man hole was positioned was a grease trap that prevented the oils from moving further into the sewerage system (where it could block pipes).

So after this realisation I figured they were scooping out this oil to be reused - what else could possibly be the explanation. But so as not to be unfairly judging them, I watched as they finished cleaning out the grease trap, replaced the man hole cover and then walked over to their 3 wheel bike thing. They then poured the oil into big metal buckets that oil gets delivered in.  That was the clincher.

I have no doubt in my mind that these people were removing waste oils from a grease trap (mixed with waste food, everybodies spit, cockroaches, rats turds, rust and every other nasty thing you can think of) and were collecting for reuse. Whether its for their own restaurant or for reselling I don't know - but I am not taking any chances. Sabrina told me she remembers reading a story from a few years ago where the same thing happened, the people doing it were selling the oil to the street food stalls - its cheap!

So, no more Youtiao or other foods from street vendors for us. Also, I'm sorry to have to deliver this news if you are a Shanghai street food aficionado, but it had to be said!

Never ever ever ever eat street food - ever!

Comments

[John]

Ha, well spotted but what makes you think that some of this is not getting back into other "restaurants?". Perhaps you should hang out around restaurant or hotel inwards goods areas to check! I saw some pretty awsome sights at Beijing fancy hotel delivery areas last year. Better stick to steamed stuff do you reckon?

[Brad]

Yeah, I thought of that - nowhere is safe! I think I'll stick to home cooking (at least until the memory has faded a bit more!).

[Tom]

This is much the same as a situation in Peru I experienced in the early 90's. A local delicacy is a kabob type dish using well marinated fish called ceviche, the key words being "well marinated". Street vendors are notorious for using gawd knows what in thier marination process. So, although the aromas from their charcol braziers are to die for, so too are their wares! In fact, just after I returned home, a rash of fatalities from extreme food poisioning was traced back to ill prepared ceviche.
I'm so glad I passed on the street vendors, before they "passed on" me!
Tom

[China Law Blog]

I hate stories like these because they only add to my nightmares. I agree with John that this stuff may well be getting in to the restaurants as well. The other thing that creeps me out is driving by farms right next to factory chemical holding ponds. I know some of those toxins seep into the farm's soil and into the vegetables that we eat at the restaurants....

[liquidblackout]

Ah, that's revolting. I'm visiting Shanghai again in the Summer and I've never heard of this before. I thought being vegan would be safe, but I think I'd be better off starving for the month. Maybe I'll pack stuff from Canada...

[Brad]

As a follow up to this - Sabrina watched a TV show the other night where an undercover journalist went to buy cooking oil.

With his hidden camera & microphone, he negotiated to buy some `recycled' cooking oil!

The show went on to explain about the very repulsive trade in recycled cooking oils. It does happen - so be aware!

[hh]

I think you are all mistaken here. as someone who grew up in shanghai i assure your that you see this all the time, but the grease is not used for further food processing, but for other purposes. Basically, you can collect this stuff and sell it. I once knew what it's used for but I can't remember exactly. by the way a lot of trash is 'recycled' in china, much more than in the west because people are poor and it's actually worth it (for some) to collect junk and sell it. there's virtually no trash that you cannot sell. This said, i do think that a lot of street food is not very healthy.

[Cathy C.]

When my sister in law was teaching in China in the 80's, she developed a basic rule of street food - never eat what you can't see being prepared. Stood her in good stead then, and seems like a good idea now as well. That being said, steamed or boiled or grilled foods seem like they're better bets - jiaotze, anyone?