Woman in Wuhan buffet caught contaminating nearby diner’s dish

Of all the places to pull a stunt involving unsanitary food handling, Wuhan, China – where Covid-19 originated – seems like the worst choice. But at a buffet restaurant in Wuhan, in the Hubei Province, a woman caused public revulsion by sneaking leftover food into the dishes of a neighbouring diner. The incident has stirred up controversy and led to widespread condemnation online.

The incident took place earlier this month when the family of the unwitting diner noticed something amiss. They had briefly left their table to collect more food and when they came back, something just seemed off, though the family couldn’t put their finger on it. Still, they felt unsettled enough to alert the restaurant management.

The buffet staff checked the CCTV footage and were shocked by what they saw: a middle-aged woman discreetly transferred her leftover food into the unsuspecting diner’s hotpot while they were away. The woman, however, has not been identified.

The buffet extended an apology to the victims of the woman’s gross stunt and waived their meal charges as a goodwill gesture, reported Sanook.

The CCTV footage shows the woman capitalising on the temporary absence of the neighbouring diners by swiftly emptying her plate of leftovers into the pot on their table. She was even seen chuckling, seemingly amused by her own misconduct.

In many buffets, to avoid over-zealous customers filling plates with more food than they could possibly eat, a penalty is imposed, where the guest is charged for leftover food. The buffet, bustling with customers at the time, was oblivious to the woman’s sly act.

The victims of the stunt claimed to have been mortified by the incident and expressed concerns over the potential of infectious diseases, as the identity and health condition of the instigator remains unknown.

A general public increase in fears surrounding food safety issues has pushed for a pursuit of the food dumping perpetrator in order to take necessary actions.

Since the incident, the video of this unpalatable act has generated widespread indignation, with most people online criticising the woman’s distasteful behaviour. Many suggested that the woman must have overestimated her stomach while filling her plate and resorted to this underhanded tactic to avoid getting penalised for leftover food.