Why You Should Think Twice About The Teriyaki Chicken At Panda Express

Panda Express is considered by many to be the ultimate Chinese fast food. As reported by Mental Floss, the brand was started by entrepreneurs Andrew Cherng and his dad, Ming-Tsai Chern, in Pasadena, California. The duo took a loan to start up their business, which they called "Panda Inn." Much to their delight, the restaurant was a hit with customers, and eventually led to the opening of the first Panda Express outlet in 1983.

Like most fast food places, Panda Express offers a mix of nutritionally healthy and not-so-healthy options. According to Eat This, Not That!, one of the worst things to order on the menu is the Orange Chicken entree with Chow Mein, based on the fact that it has a ridiculous number of calories and absurd levels of fat and sodium.  For a full serving of Chow Mein with Orange Chicken, you'd be looking at 930 calories, 43 grams of fat, 131 grams of carbs, and 1,680 mg of sodium. Gulp.

Another item to consider avoiding is Panda's Teriyaki Chicken. Why?

It may not be safe to eat

The problem with the Chicken Teriyaki has nothing to do with its macros, which in fact are pretty great: 300 calories, 36 grams of protein, 8 grams of carbs, and just 13 grams of fat. But sadly, this dish may not be prepared quite as hygienically as it should. A Panda Express worker explained on Reddit that when the dish is cut on the chopping board after being grilled, things may not be as clean as they should be.

They wrote, "... Be sure to remind the server to clean the cutting board because sometimes when we chop up the chicken and put it on the plate, pieces stay in the chopping board, and it gets cold and we sometimes pick it up with the chicken with a different order." Uh-oh. That doesn't sound too hygienic (or appetizing), does it? It may potentially give you a food-borne illness. Perhaps it's better to go for something else while dining at Panda Express, just to be safe.