Shh...Ancient Chinese secret.

My sister.

Some hotshot!

Here's her ancient Chinese secret.

Opium poppy powder.

Opium poppy powder contains traces of morphine and codeine,

for that satisfied post-hotpot feeling.

It’s guaranteed to keep you coming back for more.

Ancient Chinese secret, huh?

Well, ok.

Ancient British secret.

Hi, welcome to China Uncensored,

I'm your host Chris Chappell.

You know, it was the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates who famously said,

"Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food."

Well, that's actually the way traditional Chinese medicine looks at food, too.

But I don't think they had this in mind.

"35 restaurants are in trouble with the Chinese government

after adding that special something to their dishes.

The secret ingredient was ground poppy powder."

Poppy powder.

You know,

the stuff that's used to make morphine, opium and heroin.

Now I know why Kung Fu Panda

couldn't stop eating.

Suddenly MSG doesn't seem so bad.

Five of these restaurants in China are already being prosecuted,

while the other 30 are still under investigation.

The restaurants range from noodle shops and dumpling joints,

to one of the most popular Beijing hotpot chains.

Now it's unclear how effective it is in these doses,

but some cooks believe adding ground poppy powder can get customers hooked on their food.

Cooks? More like crooks.

I mean, can you imagine adding a potent narcotic just to sell your product?

Anyway, I believe we have footage from inside one of these restaurants in Chongqing.

Something with poison in it I think.

Poppies. Poppies."

Now this isn't the first time this has happened.

According to the Guardian,

a noodle seller was busted for this in 2014,

seven restaurants were closed in 2012,

and 215 restaurants were shutdown in 2004.

C'mon, people.

Don't you know that China's Food Safety Law forbids businesses

from selling food made with "nonfood materials or chemicals"?

Like melamine in milk.

Or heavy metals in rice.

The problem is,

according to a professor from China Agricultural University,

"There are so many restaurants in China,

and it is very difficult to effectively inspect every one of them

to ensure they all follow the law."

That's the funny thing,

in a country without the rule of law,

you have a hard time getting people to follow the law.

Plus, all the government's inspection resources

are busy spying on China's 700 million Internet users.

Now, China seems to frequently suffer from horrendous food scandals.

Ground poppy seeds that may or may not do anything

are really the least of the country's worries.

Toxic bean-sprouts.

Glow-in-the-dark meat.

Exploding watermelons.

Well the list really goes on.

And on.

It's even affected Western companies operating in China.

A Shanghai-based supplier was giving unsanitary expired chicken meat to,

among others, Starbucks, KFC, and McDonalds.

Many China social commentators say it comes from a society pushing to get rich quick,

without really thinking of the long-term consequences.

Case in point,

basing your country's energy resources around coal.

So what do you think?

And if you've been to China,

go to the China Uncensored Facebook page now and leave a comment

or post a video

about the craziest food experience you've had in mainland China.

I may even feature the best stories in one of my videos.

Once again I'm Chris Chappell, see you next time.