Chinese food outlets hit by WhatsApp rumours on coronavirus

Shiv Kumar
Tribune News Service
Mumbai, February 9

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Rumour mongering on social media like WhatsApp about coronavirus being spread by Chinese food is impacting restaurants serving even pale imitations of the cuisine in Mumbai.

Owners of restaurants serving Chinese and Thai restaurants in the city say they are often pestered by customers demanding to know if they import ingredients from China.

“People want to know whether we import Ajinomoto or sauces from China or Thailand that have been affected by coronavirus,” says restaurant owner Raghav Samant from Kandivali in Mumbai.

According to Samant, distributors who supply various sauces in bulk to restaurants like his source their products from around the world.

“Many of these sauces are brought in from Bangkok, Vietnam, Hong Kong and Taiwan in bulk,” he says.

Many of the ingredients like monosodium glutamate or Ajinomoto are also manufactured in India, according to Samant.

However, panic spread on social media has even affected small street-side eateries, which source everything locally.

“People are asking us whether stir-fried prawns are safe. Some have stopped ordering stir-fried dishes entirely,” says William D’Souza who runs a small Chinese eatery in suburban Mumbai.

Many restaurants that serve Indian and Chinese food in their premises say demand for the latter has declined due to the coronavirus scare.

While a few say demand has fallen by nearly 25-30 per cent a few say there is no impact at all.

Distributors of food ingredients say imports from China have completely stopped ever since the coronavirus struck.

“Imports have stopped from China and no one is going even to Hong Kong for business purposes,” says Shankar Toprani, a distributor of food products and equipment to Indian hotels and restaurants.

Restaurants in star hotels that serve authentic Chinese cuisine say they have adequate stock of raw materials and source their requirements from multiple agencies.

Meanwhile, officials from the Mumbai municipal corporation’s health department clarified that there was no danger of coronavirus being spread by food.

“There is no danger of coronavirus being spread by food. However, all food items should be cooked properly to prevent diseases,” BMC’s executive health officer Dr Padmaja Keskar said.