No food safety violations found at Chinese tea chain

Nayuki has signs of Chinese Bubble Tea chain in Beijing looking at its store in Beijing.

BEIJING - Chinese teahouse company Nayuki Holdings said on Wednesday inspections by regulators of its stores unearthed no food safety violations as described in a Xinhua report, and that it was not fined or penalised.

Nayuki, which sells drinks such as fruit teas topped with cheese foam, became the latest company to capture state media attention in China.

State news agency Xinhua reported on Monday that some Nayuki's stores had cockroaches and staff there used rotten fruit to make drinks. In Beijing, the department sanitized two Nayuki stores as guilty of violations.

Following the report, the southern province of Nayuki said in a statement on Tuesday it held talks with Guangdong about the matter.

Nayuki said in a statement on Wednesday that regulatory officials from different cities had made hygiene checks on 186 of its total 603 teahouses in China, but no issues were found by the Xinhua report.

The chain also said that it has not been subject to any penalties or fines from regulators. It added that it has set up a task force to investigate food safety issues and that the two Beijing teahouses listed in the media report have suspended operations to facilitate the investigation.

Sweeping moves by Chinese regulators against the property, education and technology sectors in recent months raised concerns that other industries could be vulnerable to investors globally.

On Tuesday, Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings saw $60 billion wiped off its market value in early trade after a state media article described online games as spiritual opium and re-ignited investor fears about state intervention.