Technical personnel from the manufacturer of food safety testing equipment demonstrate testing methods in the cafeteria of Beijing Jianzhu University. Photography by journalist Hao Yi

Yesterday noon, a television sized instrument was sent to the student cafeteria of Beijing Jianzhu University for the cafeteria staff to watch fresh. This machine, called the "Digital Food Safety Quality Tester," costs up to 150000 yuan. As a "practical matter" for the people in Beijing this year, a total of 98 such instruments have been provided free of charge to 59 universities in the city to enhance the inspection and testing capabilities of canteens in purchasing food raw materials. Next, the Municipal Education Commission will organize collective training for university canteens to learn how to use this instrument.

Yesterday noon, engineers from the manufacturer of the "Digital Food Safety Quality Tester" opened the packaging of the instrument. There are multiple display screens and control/input buttons on the detector, which can connect to the network. It is also equipped with a small food processing machine and a box of room temperature detection reagents, making it quite complex. From the director of the school's food center, Wang Feng, to the cafeteria staff, onlookers couldn't help but ask, "How do you use this thing.

Factory engineer Yan Xiaoguang introduced that the food raw materials purchased by the canteen every day can be tested using this instrument through sampling method, and each sample can be tested within 5 to 30 minutes. The instrument will display the test result data on the spot and compare it with relevant national standards. The testing scope includes aquatic products, vegetables and fruits, beverages, dairy products, meat, dried products, etc. The testing objects mainly include common pesticide residues, heavy metal residues, prohibited additives, etc. The reporter saw in the instrument manual that its physical and chemical testing objects include dozens of items such as formaldehyde, sodium sulfide in monosodium glutamate, diseased meat, hair soy sauce, sulfur dioxide, Sudan red, nitrite, sodium thiocyanate in milk, peroxide value of edible oil, total amount of aflatoxin, melamine, vomitoxin, pesticide residue, etc.

According to the notice issued by the Municipal Education Commission to various universities, the Municipal Food Safety Commission has purchased 98 instruments and distributed them to universities free of charge. Due to the low temperature refrigeration required for some of the detection reagents used in the instrument, each university cafeteria also needs to equip a refrigerator on their own.