'Hotpot eateries can keep recipe secrets'

BEIJING - China's food and drug watchdog has dismissed worries from the owners of hotpot restaurants who fear attempts to ensure excessive amounts of additives are kept out of foods will lead to them having to disclose their secret formulas.

The State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) said some hotpot outlets might have misunderstood the decree, which does not demand that restaurants give up their secret recipes, reported the Guangzhou Daily on Sunday, quoting the press office of the SFDA.

The decree, published on April 27, was intended to ban inedible additives used in foods and curb the excessive use of legal food additives, the SFDA added.