Updating Food Safety Supervision

People’s Daily October 17

Instant noodles used to be popular among people in China. Production and sales volumes of the product, however, respectively dropped 8.54 and 6.75 percent year on year in 2015. The cooling of demand reflects the transformation and upgrading of dietary habits across the nation.

In actual fact, instant noodles are not alone in losing favor; fast food such as McDonald’s is also losing appeal, as consumers begin to attach greater importance to health when purchasing food. Furthermore, mobile apps now enable people to order restaurant food online and have it delivered. So, it’s hardly surprising that consumers are abandoning instant noodles.

The booming online food delivery market, however, has raised certain issues. Most significantly, numerous restaurants with subpar hygiene have been exposed by the media.

Food safety supervision, therefore, should be upgraded to fit the development of the new market situation. A regulation enacted in October stipulates punishments for food safety violations by online food ordering platforms and restaurants. Relevant authorities should also carry out spot checks on restaurants and ingredient suppliers in order to guarantee food safety. Online food ordering platforms, meanwhile, should raise their thresholds for vendors.