Artificial seeking of Guinness record backfires

300 people make a 4.19-ton Yangzhou fried rice in Yangzhou, Jiangsu province, Oct 22, 2015. [Photo/Agencies]

Guinness world records has withdrawn a record set by cooks in Yangzhou, a city in East China's Jiangsu province, who prepared 4,192 kilograms of fried rice on Friday. The city was stripped of the title only three days after setting the record because the food was not eaten up by human beings, the company said. Photographs emerged online showing some of the fried rice being loaded onto lorries as waste. The event organizers claimed the cooked food were sent to local canteens, but Yangzhou tourism bureau - which supervised the event - said 150 kg of the rice became "inedible" after being kept for more than four hours and was dispatched to farms. Comments:

There is nothing wrong in applying for a Guinness World Record, but there should be sound logic behind such a move. The Yangzhou fried rice fiasco shows the city applied for a record only to draw public attention. Many believe an achievement becomes relevant if it is a Guinness World Record. But when a vigorous campaign to get an achievement into the record book is over, everything except the label of being a Guinness World Record reverts to the past. Such achievements are not at all helpful to local people.

Chinanews.com, Oct 26

Becoming a Guinness World Record is not such a great achievement as many Chinese people believe. But still they seem to be enthusiastic about such records. Nothing can justify the waste of food. Also, the wrong motivation for wanting a Guinness World Record deserves criticism.

Xinhua, Oct 26

Achievements and records can be good, because setting such records might benefit local businesses. But if local government departments get involved in or, worse, direct the whole procedure, it becomes a different issue. In this case it meant the local government did not care about wasting public funds or the waste of food.

ifeng.com, Oct 26