Should we be afraid of asian restaurants ? | France 2 | Envoyé Spécial

In 2004, an investigation by our teams brought to light “dumpling apartments” where illegal workers, in the most deplorable conditions of hygiene, produced steam dumplings and other pre-cooked dishes for Asian restaurants. Asian restaurateurs claimed that in France that year their turnover fell by 20 to 30% and that some establishments were even forced to shut up shop. So, a year later, to reassure the public and clean up their tarnished image, the professionals launched the “Asia Quality” label, awarded to those establishments that scrupulously respected more than one hundred hygiene and quality criteria. Four years on, we wanted to see if the Asian restaurant profession had really done their housekeeping. The investigation, which lasted more than three months, was difficult. More than one hundred Asian restaurants were contacted, but not one agreed to open up its kitchens to show us the conditions in which its products were produced. Jean-Charles Doria went back to investigate the “dumpling apartment” building filmed in Paris four years ago. He was able to find evidence that illegal production and sale was still going on there. So Asian restaurants are still resorting to these workshops, but it’s difficult to know to what extent. We had some forty products analysed (dumplings, nems, beef and onions, spring rolls, etc) that were bought in ten Parisian caterers. The results are alarming: 8 of the 10 restaurants sold at least one dish that was not fit for human consumption, with a host of germs and, quite often, with faecal matter in the product.