Food inspection officials have started to install video surveillance devices in restaurant kitchens in Beijing's Haidian District, in a bid to improve sanitation levels and food security for the public, the Beijing Youth Daily reported Saturday.

The Bureau for Health Inspection and Supervision of Beijing Haidian District has installed the first batch of electric eyes in the kitchens of seven food-processing companies. The devices, which allow inspectors to monitor the live operation of the kitchens from a distance, will be installed in 100 restaurants in the near future.

Officials at the district's sanitation authority said the electronic eyes should be mounted over sinks, stoves, food-preparation areas and dish-washing areas. Televisions connected to the monitors will be placed in dining areas so that customers can watch what's going on in the kitchens.

Officials said they will retain the video recordings for one month and use them to track sources of food safety problems.

Some customers praised the installation of the electronic eyes, saying they will ensure that restaurants comply with health and sanitation standards and let diners know which kitchens are clean and whether food preparers are wearing masks and caps.

Others said that when they dine outside, they would not bother watching the food-prep operations in smoky kitchens, which might affect their appetites. They said sanitation authorities should intensify their supervision efforts by imposing heavy fines on substandard restaurants.

What do restaurants in Haidian think of this new policy? Having electric eyes monitor their kitchens makes some restaurant owners quite uneasy. Many worry that the devices will reveal their secret recipe ingredients to others, damage their competitiveness and cause them to lose money. Other said they would prefer setting up a grading system for food sanitation management instead.

According to the report, each restaurant may have to pay up to 8,000 yuan (US$1,080) to install and maintain the electronic surveillance devices. Such a considerable amount of money makes it more difficult for sanitation officials to promote the use of the devices.

Officials at the sanitation bureau in Haidian said they hope the government will introduce relevant policies, making "kitchen transparency" a compulsory practice that conforms to sanitation management. They said if the district carried out such a measure on its own, it might be difficult to promote the use of the electronic eyes all over the city, considering the cost.

China enacted regulations on video surveillance for public security on January 25, but they do not require that electronic eyes be placed in restaurants.

(CRI November 11, 2007)