an undercover investigation in china has revealed the disgusting conditions in which a wildly popular snack known as 'spicy sticks' are made the food   made from flour, spicy oil and food additives   is especially popular among young adults and children due to their cheap cost, but reports in the media of them causing extreme sickness have prompted concern the snacks are popular among chinese people living abroad, with thousands of people ordering them via online marketplaces such as amazon   and there was even an online campaign recently to promote the red sticks among westerners scroll down for video  unhygienic: one worker had blistered fingers due to the chemicals, the undercover investigation found  hands on: very few workers wore protective gloves in making the spicy sticks  in china they sell for just 10p a pack and are a common sight in primary school tuck shops the most popular brands sell more than 400,000 packets a month, solely online but many consumers have reported suffering from severe sickness and diarrhoea after eating them, and one three year old girl was reportedly left with festering sores around her mouth after gorging on the snack people's daily online reported that, during secret, filming at one of the many firms which produce the snack, investigators found one worker handling food with a finger that had blistered through exposure to the chemicals used in the process   without wearing protective gloves at the factory in tongxu county, henan province, an undercover reporter saw workers visit dirty lavatories and return to work without washing their hands   again without wearing gloves or face masks when handling food this three year old girl allegedly developed sores and ulcers after eating too many of the snacks  roaring trade: they are popular on online sites such as amazon (there is no suggestion the product pictured here was manufactured at the plant in the undercover filming) the finished product was also packed with bare hands, with workers' hands stained by the red oil that coats the food   leading at least one woman to suffer sores on her finger when challenged as to why they weren't wearing gloves, staff said they slowed down their work boxes used to store the snacks were also seen covered in an oil like substance, while a choking smell filled the entire site close to the production line were various boilers, pipes and a large metal drum filled with a reddish liquid that emitted a strange smell as well as a small bucket that was full of black sludge the manufacturer, kaifeng jinsong food co, shared the premises with other businesses and there was evidence of paint particles spreading into the spicy stick workshop from a toymakers next door it comes after a toddler in the city of jiujiang was hospitalised with severe sores and ulcers which were caused by eating too many of the sticks, reports people's daily online and one blogger claimed he suffered five hours of diarrhoea after eating 10 of the sticks in quick succession to test their effect stomach turning: many consumers have reported suffering from diarrhoea after eating spicy sticks  stench: the undercover reporter said a vile smell came from vats holding chemicals like the one above  campiagn: chinese fans of the snack have been encouraging westerners to try it and posting their comments online  many consumers who have bought the snack online have also left comments reporting similar symptoms chinese fans of the snack had recently started an online campaign to make it popular with westerners a site showing pictures of western workers in china eating the sticks   known in mandarin as 'latiao'   alongside their thoughts on them, gained a large following among the comments on the site were 'latiao is taking over the world' and 'we've found the weapon that will defeat america' but the campaign that included plans to formally export the spicy snack abroad ended this week as quickly as it started, after the images of the manufacturing process emerged chinese media have reported several scares in the past in which the snack had been accused of being unhealthy and even causing cancer the authorities claim they are working to crack down on breaches of hygiene and safety regulations among food producers according to the latest report by china food and drug administration, there were 15 brands of spicy stick on the banned foods list because they exceeded acceptable levels of acid, bacteria or other chemicals in 2011, 53 manufacturers of the snack were ordered to shut down by the beijing food safety committee, but critics claim many firms continued to operate illegally under new aliases a manager claiming to be in charge at kaifeng jinsong food co told the undercover reporter: 'we are checked regularly by the authorities and there are areas that we fail on if you are talking about washing hands, changing clothes before going to the toilet then the workers will find this very constricting and it will be difficult to recruit for this work'
chinese as little as 10p amazon westerners
undercover reporter witnessed appalling hygiene at one factory . many reports of sickness and diarrhoea, while one toddler developed sores and ulcers around her mouth . young chinese are big fans, and they cost as little as 10p a packet . many consumers overseas also order them from sites such as amazon . one factory worker had blistered finger from chemicals used in the sticks . staff do not wear gloves or face masks when making the snacks . journalist witnessed workers going to lavatory and returning to work without washing their hands . campaign to convert westerners to the snack has now stalled 