Jeffrey Reid

Voyageur dans l'âme

Forget steam-cooked rolls and stinky tofu. On to China's new hot snack: Latiao! The spicy sticks are currently enjoying their short fame on the palate of the world.

The cheap "delicacy" is made from gluten, the substance that makes bread dough kneadable. The protein sticks are spicy and are usually sold at street stalls.

The snack has recently garnered national and international fame after a Chinese foreign student posted a picture of his foreign classmates enjoying the snack.

The Latiao passion developed a month after a British film crew became aware of it. In February, BBC broadcast a three-part documentary about the celebration of the Chinese New Year. It featured two performers who, with Latiao in hand, strolled through a typical Chinese snack street.

 

"Latiao is the most popular snack among under-25s in China," one of them said. This seems a bit far-fetched, to say the least.

An image from the documentary posted on WeChat sparked some online patriotism, which has shocked and even appalled some because foreigners are said to be crazy about simple Latiao, which costs just half a yuan (seven cents). #Latiaomostpopularsnack has become the "trendiest" on the micro blog Sina Weibo.

Of the top ten "Chinese snacks" on eBay, four are Latiao in different packaging. The prices range from 9.30 Euro to 22.50 Euro. If you look for "Chinese snacks" on Amazon.com, Latiao is the first term that appears. Each pack costs $ 12.99.

Liu, a Chinese student studying in New York, said Latiao was his favorite snack since he was a kid, but after he arrived in the United States, he had to buy it over the Internet.

"Gradually more and more of my classmates like this snack," Liu said.

In China, the Latiao industry is estimated to spend 20 billion yuan (2.75 billion euros). Ten companies produce more than 100 million yuan worth of Latiao annually, worth 13.85 million euros. The production volume has increased in recent years.

Min Quanlu, product manager at WL-Foods, a major Latiao producer, said the company originally packed the snack by hand. Five years ago, demand had exploded. Everything is automated today.

"We make 600 million Yuan worth of Latiao every year and employ about 2,000 people," Min said. "About 20 percent of our production is sold domestically and the remainder is exported."

Not everyone is thrilled to see Latiao in the international limelight because the snack is often made under unhygienic conditions. Just recently, a headline about Latiao was made in dirty shops in Henan. Many have complained of diarrhea and stomach pain after eating these snacks Chinese Mei Fun.

Xu Zichen, Luke's food quality representative, said the local government shut down many unqualified Latiao manufacturers or modernized their facilities to ensure food safety.