Netizens lash out after record-breaking rice is dumped in garbage truck

Some 300 people in Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province, broke the Guinness World Record for "the largest amount of fried rice" cooked at once, as they prepared around with 4.19 tons of rice on Friday. However, the victory celebration soon turned sour for the record breakers.

Soon after the record was set, workers began doing away with the rice, stepping down on it and dumping it in a garbage truck.

Netizens in China have lashed out at the organizers of the record-breaking attempt, calling their efforts a stunt and a waste of food.

The organizers, the China Cuisine Association (CCA), has previously declared that after the show, they would provide the fried rice free of cost to students and locals by sending it to local university canteens and catering enterprises.

However, eye witness pictures from the site, reported by local media, showed that some workers were using shovels to clear the rice from a giant porcelain bowl and dumping it into a garbage truck. Cleaners were also seen sweeping the falling rice on the ground after a truck carrying the rice had left.

Amid the controversy, Sang Jian, Vice Secretary General of the CCA, said on Saturday that the association had reused the rice and did not waste it, and called for objective and balanced media coverage.

"Considering the food safety problem, we have carried the uneatable fried rice to a pig farm. Although humans cannot eat it, pigs should be fine," Sang has been quoted as saying.

The controversy, however, has not died down on social media, with many people questioning the need for such efforts.

"So does it mean Yeung Chow Fried Rice is to be provided for feeding pigs?" wrote Weibo user @Blingbling.

"The attempt was only for breaking a record, but does anyone remember how many people are still underfed in China?" wondered Weibo user @rizhaoqinhao.



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