Encourage the use of safe and harmless packaging for food delivery.

Recently, the National Medical Products Administration issued the Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Food Safety in Online Catering Services (hereinafter referred to as the “Measures”), introducing a number of new regulations on online food ordering. Notably, the Measures emphasize that online catering service providers must operate physical stores and obtain food business licenses in accordance with the law. In response to public concerns about contamination of takeout food containers, the new Measures also specifically encourage third-party online catering service platforms to provide biodegradable food containers, tableware, and packaging materials. According to reports, the aforementioned new Measures will come into effect on January 1, 2018.

Online food ordering has now become an integral part of people’s daily lives. According to a recent report released by the third-party research firm iResearch, China’s online food-delivery market recorded total transaction volume of RMB 45.95 billion in the second quarter of this year, representing an year-on-year increase of 81.8%.

However, as the online food-delivery industry has experienced explosive growth, an increasing number of safety concerns have come to light, prompting a gradual tightening of regulatory oversight.

According to the “Online Food Delivery Service Experience Survey” released by CCA last year, the main problems with offline food delivery services and the quality of delivered meals include: occasional instances of foreign objects found in orders, indicating non-compliance with hygiene and safety standards; lax admission reviews on some platforms, resulting in unqualified merchants registered on online platforms operating without proper licenses offline; and, in some cases, packaging damage and food leakage. The situation...

According to data from the Shanghai Food and Drug Administration (SFDA), the pass rate for random sampling inspections of takeout food in Shanghai this year was 89.5%, lower than the overall pass rate of 97.7% for various food safety risk monitoring programs in Shanghai during the same period.

Recently, the National Medical Products Administration issued the Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Food Safety in Online Catering Services, introducing a number of new regulations governing online food ordering.

In particular, with regard to the kitchen—the source of safe food delivery—these Measures explicitly establish the principle of “consistency between online and offline operations.” Specifically, any catering service provider that operates on an online platform must maintain a physical storefront and hold a valid food business license in accordance with the law. Furthermore, such providers must conduct their business activities solely within the scope of their principal business and licensed operations as specified in the food business license and may not engage in activities beyond that scope.

The quality of raw materials, processing procedures, and the cleanliness of production facilities are also explicitly stipulated, requiring operators to process food within their own processing areas and prohibiting the outsourcing of orders to other food operators for processing. Failure to comply may result in a maximum fine of RMB 30,000.

According to reports, the Guangdong Food and Drug Administration has long been implementing the “Transparent Kitchen” initiative at the source of food safety in the catering industry to enhance quality and safety across the province. Under the plan, the provincial FDA has incorporated the construction of “transparent kitchen equipment” into its performance evaluation metrics, with the goal of achieving full coverage of such equipment in all catering service establishments across the province within three years.

The reporter found that the new measures also set out clear requirements for delivery personnel and the delivery process: delivery personnel must maintain personal hygiene, use safe and non-hazardous delivery containers, and ensure that food is not contaminated during delivery. Food-delivery businesses are required to strengthen training and management of their delivery staff. For foods that have special requirements regarding freshness, heat retention, refrigeration, or freezing, appropriate measures must be taken to ensure the safe storage and handling of delivered food.