With the Mid-Autumn Festival approaching, a company in China has come under scrutiny after employees allegedly received mooncakes that had already passed their expiry date.
The issue surfaced after a video posted online showed mooncakes distributed as employee benefits at a company in Nanyang, Henan province.
According to the mooncake labels shown in the video, the products were made on September 19, 2025 and had a shelf life of 45 days when stored at room temperature.
That means the mooncakes had allegedly been well past their stated shelf life when they were distributed to employees this year.
The incident quickly sparked discussion online, with the topic reportedly trending on Chinese social media.
The mooncake manufacturer has since responded, claiming that staff had mistakenly placed the wrong production-date label on the products.
The manufacturer said the products themselves had no quality issues, and apologised to those affected. Compensation has also reportedly been completed, with the matter still being handled.
On September 23, the Nanzhao County Market Supervision and Administration Bureau said it had taken note of online reports alleging that a local mooncake shop had sold expired products.
Officials said they immediately went to the site on September 22 to conduct inspections and collect evidence.
The authorities said the matter remains under investigation and verification.
They also announced plans to strengthen inspections of mooncakes and other festive foods to ensure food safety during the Mid-Autumn Festival period.
