In South Korea, Tsingtao urination video triggers China-made food safety fears

The viral video, which has been viewed tens of millions of times, shows a man in uniform climbing into a high-walled container and urinating inside it

Food safety regulators and local importers have stressed the factory in question isn’t connected to the beer South Korea imports, but some still worry

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Bottles of Tsingtao beer for sale in a Shanghai supermarket. The company says it contacted police to investigate the incident. Photo: Reuters

Published: 3:02pm, 25 Oct 2023Updated: 3:03pm, 25 Oct 2023

Fears of Chinese-made food products are once again spreading among consumers in South Korea, after a video went viral last week showing a worker at a Tsingtao beer factory urinating into a tank believed to contain raw ingredients.

The video, which has received tens of millions of views on social media worldwide since being uploaded on Thursday, shows a worker dressed in a uniform clambering into a high-walled container and urinating inside it.

The clip is believed to have been recorded at Tsingtao Brewery No. 3, according to a statement released on Friday by Tsingtao, one of China’s top beer producers and exporters. The company said in the statement that it had contacted the police to investigate the incident.

Both South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and the local importer of Tsingtao have stressed that the company’s imported products are not connected to the factory in the video, which they said produces beer only for the domestic Chinese market.

A still from the viral video allegedly showing a worker at a Tsingtao factory urinating in a vat of raw ingredients. Photo:X/@ianbremmer

This explanation has failed to appease consumers in South Korea, however, who have raised questions about the quality control system and hygiene standards at the company.