Standardize online food sales and strengthen the food safety defense line

In recent years, the platform economy has deeply integrated into people’s daily lives. Food, as the most basic consumer product category, is occupying an increasingly important position in online retail. From daily meals involving grains, oils, and seasonings to instant delivery of fresh cold chain products, online food sales not only enhance consumer convenience and stimulate market vitality but also bring new regulatory challenges. In practice, issues such as counterfeit and shoddy products, false marketing, and others persistently occur, which not only affect consumers’ sense of food safety but also disrupt the order of food safety regulation. Against this background, the State Administration for Market Regulation promptly formulated and issued the “Regulations on the Supervision and Management of Food Safety Responsibilities of Online Food Sales Operators” (hereinafter referred to as the “Regulations”), aiming to address institutional shortcomings, clarify responsibilities of all parties, further improve the online food safety governance system, and enhance the level of online food safety management.

1. Clarify主体责任, Build a framework for online food safety governance

Online food sales involve multiple主体, including platform providers, online food sellers, and market regulatory departments. Effective governance of online food sales depends on clarifying the responsibilities of various主体 in food safety management. The Regulations focus on this core issue, systematically sorting out the responsibilities of platform providers, online food sellers, and market regulators, and constructing a relatively complete governance framework from the institutional level.

In the online transaction system, platform providers play a key role in organization and management. They not only provide the trading environment for operators but also maintain order. Therefore, the Regulations require platform providers to establish corresponding food safety management systems, including setting up dedicated agencies or appointing personnel responsible for food safety affairs, with the main responsible person of the platform bearing overall responsibility for related work. This制度 design indicates that food safety management has become an important part of the governance structure of platform enterprises and a reflection of their social responsibility. Regarding management mechanisms, platforms need to establish rules covering online review, information verification, risk control, product recommendation, illegal handling, and other links, which should be reflected through platform service agreements and transaction rules. For the critical node of online review, the Regulations not only require platforms to fulfill real-name registration obligations but also emphasize the need for substantive review of the经营资质 of online food sellers through technical identification or on-site verification to prevent behaviors such as forgery or misuse of qualifications.

The Regulations clearly state that online food sellers should also bear主体责任 for food safety, including obtaining production and经营许可 or备案 before entering the network, ensuring that the foods sold meet safety requirements, standardizing information disclosure,经营宣传, storage, and配送 behaviors, and establishing a risk防控机制 of “daily管理, weekly排查, monthly调度” according to law.

Market regulatory departments must effectively perform their监管职责 over platform providers and online food sellers, conducting law enforcement activities such as detecting illegal online交易行为,监督检查, sampling inspection, case investigation, and事故处置.

2. Focus on risk prevention, promote proactive治理

Compared with traditional offline food sales, online food sales feature high transaction frequency, dispersed经营主体, and rapid information dissemination, resulting in a broader impact of food safety risks. To address this characteristic, the Regulations aim to build a risk prevention-oriented治理体系, shifting监管 focus from后处罚 to pre-warning and process control, making监管方式 more aligned with the operation of online transactions, and reducing the likelihood of food safety incidents from the source.

For platform providers, the Regulations require them to develop a “Food Safety Risk Control List” based on their经营规模, food categories, and risk状况, and to continuously monitor food sales activities within the platform through技术监测, data analysis, and daily巡查. For online food sellers, the Regulations require them to establish food safety管理制度 based on their实际经营情况, and to continuously assess risks during经营过程 through daily检查, regular排查, and phased总结.

These监管要求 are risk prevention-oriented, enabling platform providers and online food sellers to identify潜在问题及时 and address them, thereby reducing the occurrence of food safety incidents.

3. Improve协同机制, enhance系统治理效能

Online sales are characterized by跨地域 and即时性, making traditional监管模式 often inadequate. In this context, the Regulations focus on“协同”, promoting a治理格局 of政企互动 and区域协作 through internal贯通 and external联动.

In terms of信息协同, the Regulations require platforms to rely on大数据监测,实时巡查, and other methods to发现风险隐患, promptly推送预警信息 to relevant online food sellers and督促其采取处置措施. Online food sellers discovering风险隐患 in platform推荐的食品 should also notify the platform provider in a timely manner. Meanwhile, the Regulations clarify the obligation of platform providers and online food sellers to report违法行为 or潜在事故风险 to market监管部门, further畅通政企信息互通 channels and provide timely, accurate intelligence for监管决策.

In law enforcement协同, for网络销售食品安全事件 involving multiple regions, the Regulations require local market监管部门 to strengthen协作 in线索通报,调查取证, and问题处置, forming执法合力. This机制 helps eliminate监管盲区 caused by地域分割 and ensures that违法行为 are promptly investigated regardless of location.

4. Improve执法体制, strengthen法律威慑力

The vitality of制度 lies in its执行. To effectively deter违法行为 and ensure监管要求的落实, the Regulations innovate jurisdiction mechanisms and强化法律责任, setting clear legal红线 for online food sales operators.

Regarding管辖机制, the Regulations specify that if违法行为 occurs outside the platform provider’s住所地, it can be管辖 by the省级市场监管部门 where the违法行为发生. This制度 addresses the conflict between平台外溢性 and属地监管局限性, ensuring timely and effective执法.

In terms of法律责任, the Regulations, aligned with the特点 of online food sales, accurately apply relevant provisions of the Food Safety Law of the People’s Republic of China and the E-Commerce Law, and within statutory权限, add necessary penalties to detail sanctions for various违法行为. For example, the Regulations specify fines for platform providers that fail to appoint食品安全管理人员, conduct风险管控, or promptly address食品安全风险隐患, with clear罚款区间; for严重违法行为 such as未建立选品规则,未查验推介食品, or推介禁止生产经营的食品, fines can reach up to 200,000 yuan. Similarly, online food sellers using虚假资质入网 or providing不合规信息公示 will face graduated penalties from警告 to high fines depending on情节. Additionally, the Regulations introduce a“双罚制”, which imposes fines of one to ten times the previous year’s income of legal representatives or主要责任人 in cases of故意违法,恶劣性质, or严重后果, significantly increasing违法成本 and creating a strong法律威慑.

Overall, the issuance of the Regulations is a significant institutional measure for China’s food safety governance system to adapt to the digital economy and address new业态挑战. By clarifying主体责任, emphasizing风险防控, improving协同机制, and完善执法体制, the Regulations provide clear行为规范 for platform providers and online food sellers, and a solid制度保障 for market监管部门 to依法 and高效执法. All主体 should integrate the Regulations’ requirements into daily经营 and管理 practices, earnestly fulfill食品安全责任, and jointly maintain the秩序 of online food交易, thereby creating a safer, more trustworthy online消费环境 and supporting the healthy and orderly development of the食品产业. (Beijing Normal University Law School, Zhang Hong)

【Editor: Wang Zhiqiang HF013】

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