Whole roasted lamb lands Chongqing restaurant in trouble

A whole roasted lamb restaurant in Chongqing excessively fed its lamb with corn, hay, and water before slaughter to artificially inflate its weight, according to a report by the local authorities on Tuesday.

The incident captured public attention with online posts saying that the restaurant's lamb weighed 18 kilograms before roasting and only 3.45 kg afterward.

According to the official report, a woman recently ordered a "Dacaoyuan Whole Roasted Lamb" package from the restaurant located on Nanbin Road of Nan'an district via Meituan, a popular delivery and lifestyle services platform. On Feb 16, at 11:01 am, she went to the restaurant to select a lamb on site. After supervising the weighing (noting a live weight of 18 kg) and slaughtering process, she made marks on the legs and tail. However, when she returned around 7:00 pm to pick up the roasted lamb, she found it appeared "too small" and raised doubts. Upon weighing, the finished product—with the head, blood, hooves, skin, and internal organs excluded—was only 3.45 kg.

Receiving reports from the buyer, the local market supervision administration took the matter seriously and formed an investigation team to conduct a comprehensive inquiry. The procedure involved communicating with the woman, interviewing the restaurant's owner and employees, reviewing purchase records and transaction logs, examining onsite videos, and commissioning a legal metrology institute to inspect measuring instruments.

The investigation suggests that the restaurant violated provisions of the Consumer Rights Protection Law. The restaurant has been ordered to cease its illegal activities and compensate the buyer under the "refund one, compensate three" policy—to refund the woman's payment for goods or services and additionally pay compensation equal to three times the amount of the original payment.

The local administration emphasized its commitment to continuing the investigation to uphold market integrity and protect consumers' legitimate rights and interests.