When "shooting cucumbers" meets "administrative license" small restaurants, where do they go?

Strict law enforcement and humanized supervision go hand in hand, and the common goal of both is to ensure food safety for the public

In the past few days, the topic of "restaurant fined 5,000 yuan for 'shooting cucumbers'" has not diminished

Inconsistent online and offline penalties for "shooting cucumbers"

Careful observation is not difficult to find that in the administrative penalty cases caused by “shooting cucumbers” in several restaurants and restaurants, the penalties for operating food beyond the scope of operation are set based on different regulations, and the online and offline penalty standards are also inconsistent

For offline business operations, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the "Administrative Measures for Food Business Licensing", if the licensing items specified in the food business license change, and the food business operator fails to apply for a change in the business license as required, the food and drug supervision and administration department that originally issued the license shall Corrections shall be ordered and given a warning; if corrections are refused, a fine of not less than 2,000 yuan but not more than 10,000 yuan shall be imposed

For online operations, the "Measures for the Investigation and Punishment of Online Food Safety Illegal Acts" applies

From this point of view, for the same illegal reason, the degree of punishment for online business is much more severe than that for offline business, and it can also be used to spy on the reasons why online restaurants are reported more frequently

The reason why food safety supervision departments make different online and offline regulations may be out of consideration of the food sales area, the number of recipients, and the size of potential risks

How to solve the problem of "shooting cucumbers" in small restaurants?

Food safety legislation takes risk control as the core concept and value pursuit, and all regulatory means serve this goal

But in the specific food law enforcement practice, there is no lack of due "temperature"

For regulatory authorities, the conditions for operating licenses can also be adjusted appropriately according to actual needs

In reality, this is also the reason why many small restaurants have not applied for cold food business projects in the scope of business licenses

In this regard, in June 2021, the Inspection Bureau of the State Administration for Market Regulation replied: According to the relevant provisions of the "Code of Practice for Food Safety in Catering Services", "the following processing and production can be carried out in either a special room or a special operation area: ( a) meal preparation, (b) processing and production of freshly squeezed fruit and vegetable juices, fruit and vegetable platters, etc.

"Only processing and making plant-based cold food" and "cold food unpacked from pre-packaged food" do not require a special room, which means that related operations can be carried out in a clean and dedicated operation area

　　Food regulatory authorities shall punish illegal acts of operating food beyond the scope of the license according to the law.

　　Wang Difei (food and drug legal expert)