17 December 2024 , 19:29
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A Chinese restaurant in Kansas has come under fire after a worker was filmed cutting up meat on the sidewalk.
Health inspectors descended on Tryyaki in Lawrence after a video showing the grisly act emerged online.
The footage featured an employee hacking at pieces of pork while squatting down on the concrete pavement of the restaurant’s drive-thru.
’It was gut-wrenching. I couldn’t believe what I was witnessing,’ Jennifer Watkins, who filmed the incident while out with her husband Greg, told Fox4KC. ’There was no cutting board or nothing to chop on. He was just cutting on concrete.’
The premises’ owner took to social media to reassure customers that the meat was for the worker’s personal use and is not even served on the menu.
’People should not worry that we are serving them pork cut from the ground,’ owner Sunny Liu said.
’The pork carcass shown in the video was not intended for our customers. It is inexpensive meat that some of our employees prepare and cook separately for their personal consumption,’ the restaurant wrote in a statement.
’This meat is cooked at the end of the night, in a separate cooking bowl, completely apart from the kitchen equipment and utensils used for customer food.
The owners of Tryyaki said that the person was cutting up pork for personal use
However, inspectors still felt the need to visit the Lawrence establishment and give out some advice
’While this practice is safe when properly cooked, we would never serve this to our customers.’
However, Greg Watkins was left unconvinced by the explanation.
’It’s not clean it’s not good to be chopping meat whether it’s for personal consumption or they are going to do it to the public, they are still preparing it in that kitchen,’ he said.
The state’s Department of Agriculture also became alarmed and decided to launch an emergency inspection.
A report from the December 1 visit found that there was no time stamp on a bowl of sushi rice being stored out in the open, but no other violations.
However, previous visits have uncovered infractions such as raw chicken being stored above fresh vegetables and employees using their bare hands to prepare crab Rangoon.
The inspectors gave the restaurant some advice which the owners said they put into practice by sanitizing all its knives, as well as the area where the meat was cut.
The owner said he had spoken to the employee in the video to ensure he would not do it again.
Owner Sandy Liu said the employee was cutting up pork which is not even served on the menu
The scene horrified passerby Jennifer Watkins who took the video which sparked the health inspection
’A health inspector visited our restaurant the same day this video was posted,’ the restaurant added.
’After conducting a thorough inspection, they confirmed that our restaurant meets all health and safety standards.
’This reflects our ongoing commitment to the highest levels of cleanliness, quality, and transparency.’