Following a media investigation on unsanitary factory conditions, a city in Fujian province has banned the sale of latiao — the spicy dough sticks consumed as snacks all over China — within a 200-meter radius of school campuses, local media reported Thursday. The move follows two similar province-wide bans in Qinghai and Gansu, both announced Tuesday.

Though latiao seems to have a special place in the hearts of China’s children, the product’s lack of nutrition and frequent sanitation-related scandals have given parents pause. Last Friday, China Central Television aired an exposé during its annual World Consumer Rights Day gala about factories in Henan and Hunan provinces that were producing latiao under poor sanitary conditions, using dirty containers for ingredients and dragging sticks of dough along the ground.

The same day, the State Administration for Market Regulation asked local authorities in the two provinces to close the factories involved and remove their products from store shelves. The administration also demanded that all provinces inspect the production and sale of latiao to ensure that food safety and production standards were being met. (Image: VCG)