We started off our day going to the China Agricultural University of Beijing where we had a presentation about food product traceability and safety from one of the MBA professors, Dr. Chen. Traceability is the process which tracks food products throughout the supply chain. The steps in the supply chain are similar to those in the United States; for example, the produce starts with a farmer, then upstream suppliers, suppliers, warehouse, consignees, distribution, and lastly the point of sale. We learned that the traceability process has four components. First, there is planting, then adding tags, checking info on POS or web, and finally a government check. Although traceability in the United States is easily implemented, in China only 1 in 600 people actually use the system. Traceability in China is difficult to implement in large scale and it cannot always ensure safety. Traceable food is almost five times as expensive as non-traceable food. Although consumers’ income is high enough to afford these foods, they do not trust or believe in the system. As for the campus, it was very similar to a campus back in the United States; for example, many students live in dormitories which are split up into a women’s dorm (Princess building) and a men’s dorm (Prince building). At each dorm there is also a cafeteria, which is where we had dinner with the director of the MBA program and students.

We ate lunch at Duxiaoyue, which is a Taiwanese quick service restaurant. Here we enjoyed a traditional Taiwanese meal and got to talk to the manager of the restaurant to get more insight into the quick service restaurant industry. He was even willing to be filmed answering questions we had prepared to further our research project for our video presentation we will be presenting this coming fall semester. It was easier for him to answer the questions thoroughly in Chinese rather than English, so later when we travelled back to the China Agriculture University, an MBA office staff member translated the video for us, which was very nice of her. The information we got from the manager was very insightful, and the video looks great so we are very thankful he was willing to speak with us.

Something we learned from the manager that was very interesting was that his Taiwanese based restaurant was over 100 years old, originating in 1899. He also explained that what separates him from other quick service restaurants is that they have a signature noodle dish that uses ingredients from Taiwan. This also helps him assure that the food quality and security they employ is on par with what their customers demand. Items such as fruits and vegetables or other delicate ingredients are bought from Beijing suppliers that meet quality standards by the government and the other traditional ingredients from Taiwan have been used since the beginning of the restaurant. The restaurant saves a portion along with the information from each batch of ingredients bought in order to be able to trace back if there is a problem. The restaurant also ensures quality by tasting every batch of food made and if it is not satisfactory it is thrown away and remade to ensure that the brand stays strong. Duxiaoyue has three stores in the Beijing area and sets itself apart through many of the policies mentioned above.

After lunch we visited Shunxin Agricultural Company, a very diverse company involved in many industries including pork slaughter and processing, wine and spirits production, and even produce and vegetable packaging and processing.   We witnessed the hog slaughter and processing floor and got to see hogs being hung by their legs so that the employees could remove all of the internal organs. It was definitely an interesting and insightful experience to see this process and is something that we feel is perhaps not as openly shared with tour groups in American slaughterhouses.  They even allowed photography and videography! We learned that this company supplied a substantial amount of pork to tourists and athletes during the 2008 Beijing Olympics and has a very strong presence throughout China.

In the afternoon we had a chance to visit the Olympic stadium and take pictures at both the Bird’s Nest and the Water Cube where Michael Phelps broke may world records just 6 years ago.  The sites are occasionally used today for sporting events, concerts, and even weddings; and the Bird’s Nest stadium is hosting a world track and field event this week. Both were great sites to see!

Finally, we travelled back to CAU to enjoy dinner with some of the MBA students. It was a very good opportunity to learn first hand how life and school in China are. The students told us how they usually do not eat McDonald’s because they think it is considered inferior in quality.  They prefer local favorites, which was very interesting but perhaps not surprising given that it is an American fast food chain. The food was very good and everyone was extremely welcoming.

After we got back to our hotel, we experienced the Chinese nightlife at a local club called “Mix” thanks to a recommendation from our fabulous tour guide, Carl Wen.

We want to thank China Agricultural University of Beijing for the traceability lecture, a tour, and dinner! 

To see more photos of us, click over to Flickr!