Taiwan sushi chain accused of inaction after child spits on food

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A conveyor-belt sushi chain in Taichung City has been accused of inaction after a customer reported to the restaurant that he saw a boy spitting on passing plates of sushi.

The customer said the restaurant did not immediately take any action after the complaint. He posted three photos of the boy on anonymous communication platform Dcard on Thursday (Aug. 3).

The customer wrote in his post that while dining with a friend at the sushi place inside the Taichung Kuang San SOGO Department Store, he spotted a boy spitting on the passing plates of sushi. The boy allegedly stopped after realizing he was being filmed by the man.

"My friend and I lost our appetite after seeing this, and to our surprise, the boy's parents did not stop the misbehavior till the end of our filming," the post read.

The restaurant issued a statement later in the day regarding the incident, apologizing for its inadequate response after receiving the complaints. "In the future, on such occasions, stores will respond immediately by disposing of all the food on the conveyor belt and cleaning and disinfecting the restaurant before reopening their doors to diners."

Earlier this year, Japan's leading conveyor-belt sushi chain, Sushiro, was affected by a viral video of a 17-year-old Japanese high school student purposely licking a soy sauce bottle, cups, and spreading saliva on a passing plate of sushi. After the video was shared over Twitter, shares of Sushiro dropped 5%.