Woman in China claims she found mercury granules in Chagee drink
A woman recently sparked controversy after claiming she found silver granules she believed were “mercury” in a milk tea drink bought from a Chagee outlet in Anhui, China.
The incident quickly went viral online, prompting concerns over food safety as mercury is highly toxic.
However, a joint investigation team later said no abnormalities were found in the outlet’s raw materials or production process.
It also stated that the foreign object in the drink had been added by the “purchaser”, sparking fresh debate over who the term referred to.
Woman says boyfriend bought her Chagee drink
On 28 April, a woman surnamed Zhang went online to complain that she had found a liquid metal substance, suspected to be mercury, in a Chagee drink.
Ms Zhang said the drink was purchased on 27 April from the Chagee outlet at Dangshan Wanda Plaza in Suzhou.
She reportedly said it was her boyfriend who had scanned the QR code at the store to place the order.
Source: Jimu News
Ms Zhang claimed she did not notice anything unusual during her first two sips, but later felt grainy foreign objects in her mouth.
“I felt it wasn’t popping boba. I couldn’t chew through it, and it kept moving around,” she said. “It wouldn’t burst, and instead separated into small bead-like droplets.”
After spitting the objects out, she said she saw tiny silver-coloured beads in the cup, which she suspected were mercury.
Source: Jimu News
Woman reports incident to authorities
Ms Zhang said she contacted the Chagee outlet that night to lodge a complaint.
According to reports, staff at the outlet denied that such an object could have appeared during the drink-making process and advised her to call the police.
Source: Wikipedia, for illustration purposes only
Ms Zhang then reported the incident to the police and filed a complaint with the market supervision authorities.
As videos and posts about the alleged “mercury milk tea” spread online, the incident drew widespread attention.
Many netizens raised concerns about food safety, while some criticised Chagee over the allegation.
The Chagee outlet involved maintained that mercury could not have appeared in its production process and said it was cooperating with the authorities.
Investigation team says ‘foreign object’ was added by ‘purchaser’
On 29 April, a joint investigation team in Dangshan county issued a statement on the case.
The team said no abnormalities were found in the raw materials or production process at the Chagee outlet involved.
“The foreign object in the milk tea was placed there by the purchaser,” the statement said.
Source: Jimu News
The team added that relevant evidence had been secured and sent for testing, while “the people involved” had been detained by police.
The statement did not name the purchaser or identify the people detained, and the case remains under further investigation.
Following the announcement, some netizens accused Ms Zhang of making a false complaint to seek compensation.
However, others later pointed out that Ms Zhang had previously said her boyfriend was the one who bought the drink.
This led to speculation that the “purchaser” mentioned in the official statement could refer to him instead.
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Featured image adapted from Jimu News.
