China Issues New Regulation to Strengthen Food Safety Supervision in Online Sales

In recent years, platform economy has been deeply integrated into people’s daily lives, and food, as the most basic consumer category, has become increasingly important in online retail. From grain, oil and condiments for three meals a day to fresh cold chain delivered in real time, online food sales have improved consumption convenience and stimulated market vitality, while also bringing new regulatory challenges.

Problems such as counterfeiting and false marketing persist, which not only affect consumers’ sense of food safety but also impact the food safety supervision order. Against this background, the State Administration for Market Regulation has formulated and issued the Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Online Food Sellers’ Implementation of Food Safety Main Responsibilities (hereinafter referred to as the Measures), aiming to make up for institutional shortcomings, consolidate responsibilities of all parties, improve the online food safety governance system, and enhance the level of online food safety governance.

The Measures systematically clarify the responsibilities of three main entities: platform providers, online food sellers and market supervision departments, building a complete governance framework at the institutional level. Platform providers, as the key link in the online transaction system, are required to establish a food safety management system, set up special institutions or designate personnel to be responsible for food safety, and conduct substantive inspections on the business qualifications of online sellers to prevent the forgery or fraudulent use of qualifications.

Online food sellers must obtain production and operation licenses or file records in accordance with the law before entering the platform, ensure the safety of the food sold, standardize information disclosure and storage and distribution, and establish a "daily control, weekly inspection and monthly scheduling" risk prevention and control mechanism. Market supervision departments shall perform their supervision duties, including detecting illegal acts, conducting supervision and inspection, and investigating cases.

Focusing on risk prevention, the Measures promote the shift of supervision focus from post-event punishment to pre-event early warning and process control. Platform providers are required to formulate a Food Safety Risk Control List and continuously monitor online food sales through technical monitoring and data analysis. Online sellers should establish food safety management systems and conduct continuous risk assessments.

To improve governance efficiency, the Measures improve coordination mechanisms, promoting the formation of a governance pattern of government-enterprise interaction and regional cooperation. Platforms and sellers should promptly push early warning information and report illegal acts to market supervision departments. Local market supervision departments should strengthen cooperation in clue notification and investigation to eliminate regulatory blind spots.

The Measures also improve the law enforcement system to enhance legal deterrence. It clarifies the jurisdiction mechanism to solve the contradiction between platform spillover and local supervision limitations, and refines penalties for various illegal acts. A "double punishment system" is introduced, which can impose fines on legal representatives or main responsible persons, greatly increasing the cost of breaking the law. The issuance of the Measures provides solid institutional support for ensuring online food safety and promoting the healthy development of the food industry.