Shanghai Municipal Administration for Market Regulation Releases the Sixth Batch of Typical Cases in the Special Campaign on Online Catering Food Safety

In order to further advance the special campaign on online catering food safety and continuously consolidate the results of governance, the Shanghai Municipal Administration for Market Regulation has adhered to a problem-oriented approach, made simultaneous efforts online and offline, strictly investigated food safety risks and hidden dangers, and cracked down on illegal and non-compliant acts such as "ghost takeaways" and false advertising, resolutely safeguarding the safety of the food on the people's plates. The sixth batch of typical cases is hereby released as follows, in the hope that the majority of online catering operators will take these cases as a warning, learn from the examples, earnestly fulfill their primary responsibility for food safety, and jointly create a safe and reassuring online catering consumption environment.

I. The Huangpu District Administration for Market Regulation Investigates and Handles the Case of Shanghai Hengfei Catering Management Co., Ltd. Purchasing Food Raw Materials Not Conforming to Food Safety Standards

Case description: Upon investigation, Shanghai Hengfei Catering Management Co., Ltd. opened a "no dine-in" takeaway stall at a food plaza in this city under the store sign "Menghan Rolled Noodle Skin · Cold Noodle Skin", and on April 13, 2026, the party concerned purchased 2 packs of sweet pickled mustard tuber through a WeChat merchant mini-program. On April 29, 2026, the Huangpu District Administration for Market Regulation commissioned a food testing institution to carry out a food safety supervisory sampling inspection of the sweet pickled mustard tuber used by the party concerned as a food raw material. Upon testing, the items of benzoic acid and its sodium salt, sodium saccharin and sunset yellow in the samples did not meet the requirements of GB 2760-2024 "National Food Safety Standard — Standard for the Use of Food Additives", and the inspection conclusion was non-conforming; by the time the case was discovered, the non-conforming batch of sweet pickled mustard tuber had been used up. It was further found that the non-conforming products involved were purchased from the Tongweixiang Food Business Firm in Liuhe Town, Taicang City, and the Huangpu District Administration for Market Regulation has transferred the clues of the violation to the market regulation administration of the relevant locality.

Legal basis and penalty: The act of the party concerned in purchasing food raw materials not conforming to food safety standards violated the provisions of Article 55, Paragraph 1 of the Food Safety Law of the People's Republic of China. In accordance with Article 125, Paragraph 1, Item (4) of the Food Safety Law of the People's Republic of China, the Huangpu District Administration for Market Regulation ordered the party concerned to immediately correct the illegal act, and imposed an administrative penalty of confiscating illegal gains of 239.5 yuan and a fine of 5000 yuan.

Case warning: This case investigates and handles the illegal act of the party concerned in purchasing food raw materials not conforming to food safety standards. It warns the majority of online catering operators that the safety of food raw materials is the source defense line of catering safety, and that they must strictly implement the incoming goods inspection and certificate and invoice verification systems, verify the relevant product conformity certificates, and ensure that raw materials are traceable in source and reliable in quality.

II. The Jing'an District Administration for Market Regulation Investigates and Handles the Case of Shanghai Shenyan Catering Co., Ltd. Operating Adulterated and Admixtured Food

Case description: Recently, when the Jing'an District Administration for Market Regulation carried out an inspection of catering units within its jurisdiction, it found that the dish "white-cut sake goose liver" sold externally by Shanghai Shenyan Catering Co., Ltd. was marked in the product details column as "main ingredient: goose liver", but duck liver was actually used as the raw material; after processing it itself, the party concerned passed it off as goose liver to mislead consumers. By the time the case was discovered, the party concerned had produced and sold more than 500 servings of the dish, with illegal business revenue exceeding 60000 yuan.

Legal basis and penalty: The act of the party concerned is suspected of constituting a crime. In accordance with Article 121, Paragraph 1 of the Food Safety Law of the People's Republic of China and Article 3, Paragraph 1 of the Provisions on the Transfer of Suspected Criminal Cases by Administrative Law Enforcement Agencies, the Jing'an District Administration for Market Regulation has transferred the case to the Jing'an Branch of the Shanghai Public Security Bureau for handling in accordance with the law.

Case warning: This case investigates and handles the illegal act of the party concerned in operating adulterated and admixtured food and passing off fake products as genuine. It warns the majority of catering operators that the content marked on menus must be consistent with the food materials actually used, that acts infringing upon consumers' rights and interests such as passing off fake products as genuine and having names inconsistent with reality must be eliminated, and that they must strictly implement the incoming goods inspection system, strengthen internal food material management, abide by the principle of honest operation, and consciously observe the laws and regulations on food safety.

III. The Hongkou District Administration for Market Regulation Investigates and Handles the Case of the Taotaoyu Dessert Shop in Hongkou District, Shanghai, Failing to Implement Online Delivery Seals as Required

Case description: In June 2026, the Hongkou District Administration for Market Regulation found during a special inspection of online catering that the Taotaoyu Dessert Shop in Hongkou District, Shanghai, had opened takeaway stores on the Meituan and Taobao Shangou platforms to engage in cake sales, and that at the packing area on site the ready-to-eat cakes awaiting delivery were packaged only in paper boxes, without being sealed with a seal or with food packaging having a sealing function. Law enforcement officers issued a notice of order to correct on site, ordering rectification within a time limit. A re-inspection upon expiry of the rectification period found that the party concerned still had not sealed the ready-to-eat cakes awaiting delivery with seals as required.

Legal basis and penalty: The act of the party concerned violated the provisions of Article 41, Paragraph 2 of the Shanghai Municipal Food Safety Regulations. In accordance with Article 98, Paragraph 3 of the Shanghai Municipal Food Safety Regulations, the Hongkou District Administration for Market Regulation ordered the party concerned to correct the illegal act and imposed an administrative penalty of a fine of 300 yuan.

Case warning: This case investigates and handles the illegal act of the party concerned in failing to seal ready-to-eat food for delivery as required. It warns the majority of online catering service operators to strengthen risk control in the delivery stage of takeaway meals, guard against food safety risks such as external contamination and the mixing in of foreign matter, strictly implement the primary responsibility for online catering food safety, and comply with the management norms for the use of food safety seals.

IV. The Hongkou District Administration for Market Regulation Investigates and Handles the Case of Shanghai Xinronggang Catering Management Co., Ltd. Operating Adulterated and Admixtured Food

Case description: In April 2026, the Hongkou District Administration for Market Regulation found during a special inspection of online catering that Shanghai Xinronggang Catering Management Co., Ltd. sold dishes such as "garlic vermicelli sole fish" on the Meituan and Taobao Shangou platforms, marked in the product details column as "main ingredient: sole fish", but actually used basa fish as the meat raw material; the party concerned thawed, cut and prepared, seasoned and steamed the basa fish, and then sold it externally under the name of "sole fish", misleading consumers.

Legal basis and penalty: The act of the party concerned in operating adulterated and admixtured food violated the provisions of Article 34, Item (6) of the Food Safety Law of the People's Republic of China. In accordance with Article 124, Paragraph 1, Item (4) of the Food Safety Law of the People's Republic of China, the Hongkou District Administration for Market Regulation ordered the party concerned to correct the illegal act and imposed an administrative penalty of confiscating illegal gains of 2643.74 yuan and a fine of 50000 yuan.

Case warning: This case investigates and handles the illegal act of the party concerned in operating adulterated and admixtured food. It warns the majority of online catering operators that food business must be honest and trustworthy and that the primary responsibility for food safety must be strictly implemented. Operating adulterated and admixtured food is an act expressly prohibited by law and will surely entail serious legal consequences.

V. The Yangpu District Administration for Market Regulation Investigates and Handles the Case of Shanghai Jingshengyuan Catering Management Co., Ltd. False Advertising

Case description: On June 22, 2026, the Yangpu District Administration for Market Regulation received clues assigned by the higher-level authority, reflecting that Shanghai Jingshengyuan Catering Management Co., Ltd., when conducting a livestream at the store "Puti · Haizhenghui Steam Seafood Buffet" opened on the Douyin platform, claimed to consumers that the blue lobsters in its store had antioxidant effects. Upon investigation, the blue lobsters concerned are edible agricultural products, and are neither health food nor food that is both medicine and food.

Legal basis and penalty: The act of the party concerned violated the provisions of Article 9, Paragraph 1 of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People's Republic of China. In accordance with Article 25, Paragraph 1 of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People's Republic of China, the Yangpu District Administration for Market Regulation ordered the party concerned to stop the illegal act and imposed an administrative penalty of a fine of 20000 yuan.

Case warning: This case investigates and handles the illegal act of the party concerned in false advertising. It warns the majority of online catering operators that ordinary seafood is not health food and must not be claimed externally to have health effects; false advertising violates the principle of honest operation and infringes upon consumers' right to know and right to fair trade. Online catering service operators should strengthen their own compliance management and eliminate false marketing that misleads consumers.

VI. The Yangpu District Administration for Market Regulation Investigates and Handles the Case of Shanghai Guancanhai Brand Management Co., Ltd. False Advertising

Case description: Upon investigation, Shanghai Guancanhai Brand Management Co., Ltd. was entrusted by the brand owner to operate the takeaway and group-buying platform business of the stores of the Obligi Chicken Korean fried chicken brand. From June 2024 to the time the case was discovered, the party concerned uploaded and simultaneously published photos of the dining environment of some stores in the "Merchant Album" section of the store on the Meituan platform, displaying them to consumers. The above dining environment photos were renderings or sample renderings of the dining environment of other stores, and were inconsistent with the actual dining environment of the stores involved.

Legal basis and penalty: The act of the party concerned violated the provisions of Article 11, Paragraph 1, Item (2) of the Shanghai Municipal Regulations on Anti-Unfair Competition. In accordance with Article 30, Paragraph 1 of the Shanghai Municipal Regulations on Anti-Unfair Competition and Article 25, Paragraph 1 of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People's Republic of China, the Yangpu District Administration for Market Regulation ordered the party concerned to stop the illegal act and imposed an administrative penalty of a fine of 90000 yuan.

Case warning: This case investigates and handles the illegal act of the party concerned in false advertising. It warns all third-party service intermediary agencies of the online catering agency operation and brand management type that helping others to carry out false advertising entails legal liability, and that when producing and publishing promotional content on behalf of online catering service operators, they must ensure that the displayed information is fully consistent with the actual business situation and eliminate false advertising that substitutes renderings for real scenes.

VII. The Minhang District Administration for Market Regulation Investigates and Handles the Case of the Songzhixin Catering Shop in Minhang District, Shanghai, False Advertising

Case description: On May 29, 2026, the Minhang District Administration for Market Regulation carried out a food safety sampling inspection of the "beef skewers" on sale at the Songzhixin Catering Shop in Minhang District, Shanghai, and the test results showed that no bovine-derived ingredients were detected in the sample, while duck-derived ingredients were detected. Upon investigation, the party concerned is engaged in online catering services and sold pre-packaged food whose raw material contains duck meat ingredients and does not contain any beef ingredients under the name of "beef skewers" both online and offline. By the time the case was discovered, the party concerned had sold a total of 42 servings of the dish, with a goods value of 431.08 yuan.

Legal basis and penalty: The act of the party concerned violated the provisions of Article 9, Paragraph 1 of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People's Republic of China. In accordance with Article 25, Paragraph 1 of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People's Republic of China, the Minhang District Administration for Market Regulation ordered the party concerned to stop the illegal act and imposed an administrative penalty of a fine of 5000 yuan.

Case warning: This case investigates and handles the illegal act of the party concerned in fabricating food information and carrying out false advertising. It warns online catering service operators that they should truthfully and accurately publicize and disclose core information such as food raw materials and ingredient composition, and are strictly prohibited from deceiving and misleading consumers through false advertising and other means, and must hold to the bottom line of honest operation.

VIII. The Minhang District Administration for Market Regulation Investigates and Handles the Case of the Fourth Branch of Shanghai Wangpuxian Catering Management Co., Ltd. Providing False Information and False Advertising

Case description: On March 17, 2026, the Minhang District Administration for Market Regulation found during supervision and inspection that the Fourth Branch of Shanghai Wangpuxian Catering Management Co., Ltd. was suspected of providing false qualification information for online access. Upon investigation, since January 2026, the party concerned had opened takeaway stores on the Taobao Shangou and Meituan platforms respectively, uploading the business licenses and food business permits of other companies. At the same time, the party concerned also increased the order quantity and positive review quantity of its online stores by means of cashback order brushing, brushing a total of 197 orders, adding 153 positive reviews, with a total cashback amount of 2955 yuan. After the case was discovered, the party concerned has taken the takeaway stores involved offline and stopped the acts of order brushing and reputation faking.

Legal basis and penalty: The act of the party concerned in using the qualifications of others to engage in online catering service business violated the provisions of Article 4, Paragraph 2 of the Measures for Investigating and Punishing Illegal Acts of Online Food Safety; its act of cashback order brushing violated the provisions of Article 9, Paragraph 1, Item (5) of the Interim Provisions on Prohibiting Unfair Competition Online and Article 14, Paragraph 2, Item (1) of the Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Online Transactions. In accordance with Article 43 of the Measures for Investigating and Punishing Illegal Acts of Online Food Safety, Article 34 of the Interim Provisions on Prohibiting Unfair Competition Online, Article 43 of the Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Online Transactions and Article 25, Paragraph 1 of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People's Republic of China, the Minhang District Administration for Market Regulation ordered the party concerned to correct the illegal act and stop the false advertising, and imposed a combined administrative penalty of a fine of 25000 yuan.

Case warning: This case investigates and handles the illegal acts of the party concerned in providing false qualification information for online access and in false advertising through order brushing and reputation faking. It warns online catering service operators that they must truthfully publicize their own lawful qualifications and business information, and eliminate illegal acts such as going online with forged licenses and qualifications and false speculation through order brushing.

Contributed by: Inspection and Investigation Division and Catering Division of the Municipal Bureau