Photo via Taobao

Latiao, a popular Chinese snack that lures people with its oily and spicy flavor and which is reportedly worth 60 billion yuan (nearly $9 billion), is now facing a sales ban near schools in some provinces in China allegedly due to health concerns, triggering public debate online.

On Mar. 19, Jilin province in northeast China issued a provincial action plan to provide safe food on campus, vowing to target unhygienic Latiao in key areas such as communities near schools, rural-urban fringe areas, and grocery markets.

The decision marked the latest of a series of measures taken by other provinces to make sure Latiao is not sold near schools.

The rules are even stricter in other parts of the country. In northwest China’s Gansu and Qinghai provinces, Latiao sales are forbidden within 200 meters of a school campus and its surrounding area in order to guarantee healthy development of children and teenagers in the provinces.

The notice issued by the supervising body in Qinghai said the popular snack contains excessive oil, salt, and food additives, which are bad for health. It added that the results of past inspections have also shown multiple problems, such as excessive use of preservatives and pigments. A high number of bacterial colonies were also found.

The cheap “delicacy” is made from gluten, which is used to make bread dough chewy. The snack is spicy and commonly sold at roadside stands. Though loved by many, it is despised by many others. For example, some parents have complained that it causes diarrhea and stomachaches.

As early as 2015, Gansu, Hubei, and Hainan provinces launched a crackdown on unhygienic Latiao. At this year’s anti-counterfeiting gala on Mar. 15, a Latiao manufacturer was also found with poor factory working conditions, reigniting public concerns.

China has been working to guarantee students’ health over the past years. On Mar. 11, three government bodies including the Ministry of Education published a new regulation, banning such food booths on high school, primary, and kindergarten school campuses, adding that to operate on campus, food booths must have a license and avoid sales of foods containing excessive amounts of salt, sugar, and fat,” it added.