Yulin problem celery was severely punished for exceeding the standard of "poisoned tick" residue, was it unjust?

On August 27, CCTV News reported in the 30-minute column that the Market Supervision Bureau of Yuyang District, Yulin City, Shaanxi Province, found that the supervision and sampling of celery food sold by an individual industrial and commercial household was unqualified, violating the relevant provisions of the Food Safety Law, and gave the parties an administrative penalty of 66,000 yuan

When reporting, Daxin only pointed out that the batch of celery was unqualified, and did not mention that the unqualified items were detected as the banned pesticide "chlorpyrifos", but focused the report on the first offender, minor penalties, small sales, small amounts and heavy penalties; Some media also proposed that there was a heavy penalty for not having a ledger record, and the law enforcement lacked

A legal expert who has been engaged in food safety law enforcement case review, administrative reconsideration, administrative response and legal review for many years believes that in view of the "excessive punishment" problem mentioned in the hot discussion of the celery case, the law enforcement behavior should not be arbitrarily evaluated from subjective feelings, but should objectively and rationally return to the "spirit of the rule of law" and analyze

Should the prohibition of pesticide residues exceeding the standard be severely punished?

Logging on to the website of the Market Supervision Bureau of Yulin City, Shaanxi Province, the reporter saw that in the "Notice on the Unqualified Sampling of 4 Batches of Food" on June 24, the celery sold by the good wife condiment sales department of Yuyang District, Yulin City, of which the chlorpyrifos content did not meet the national standards for

The relevant person in charge of the Shaanxi Provincial Market Supervision Bureau also pointed out that after inspection, the measured value of chlorpyrifos (which belongs to organophosphorus insecticides) of the selected batch of celery was 0.

What is a "chlorpyrifos"? Chlorpyrifos is an emulsion preparation insecticide, is a cholinesterase inhibitor, poisoning symptoms include headache, dizziness, weakness, blurred vision, nausea, vomiting, miosis, muscle tremor, pulmonary edema, coma, irritation to the eyes and skin, allergenic

Celery is an edible agricultural product and is sampled in circulation, so the Food Safety Law

Item (1) of the first paragraph of Article 124 of the Food Safety Law stipulates that "in any of the following circumstances in violation of the provisions of this Law, which does not constitute a crime, the food and drug supervision and administration department of the people's government at or above the county level shall confiscate the illegal gains and the food and food additives illegally produced and traded, and may confiscate the tools, equipment, raw materials and other articles used in illegal production and operation; Where the value of food or food additives produced or traded in violation of the law is less than 10,000 yuan, a fine of between 50,000 and 100,000 yuan shall be imposed

The legal expert believes that only by increasing the punishment of illegal acts in key areas and increasing the cost of violating the law through severe punishment can it truly play a deterrent role, and celery that exceeds the standard of "poisoned tick" can also be eliminated

Are the individual industrial and commercial households who have been punished unjustly wronged?

In the Yulin problem celery case, many netizens complained for Luo and his wife, believing that even if the celery was unqualified, it should be traced to the source, and the small vegetable shop should not be allowed to carry the pot

In this case, it seems that the problem celery is only 7 pounds, so how many pounds of problem celery did the upstream wholesaler buy? How many pounds of celery are involved in the planting process? How many tables did these celery go to? When will we be able to completely eliminate these problems of celery and ensure the "safety on the tip of the tongue" of the people? All this is also due to the fact that the parties have not fulfilled their purchase inspection obligations in accordance with the law and cannot truthfully explain the source of purchases, resulting in the problem of celery cannot be effectively traced, resulting in the supervision of the whole chain of edible agricultural products becoming empty talk

The penalty decision of the law enforcement department also shows that the main reason for the parties to be punished is that the celery involved was detected and used banned pesticides, and the lack of purchase account is only one

According to the information released by the Yulin Municipal Market Supervision Bureau, 3 more merchants in the area this year are unqualified for celery, and all of them are "chlorpyrifos" residues exceeding the standard

At the same time, there is another detail worth paying attention to, after the parties filed an administrative lawsuit with the people's court against the punishment, on June 20, 2022, the people's court made a first-instance judgment, holding that the subject and procedure of punishment in this case did not violate the law, and the law was correct; The discretion of punishment is within the scope of the Food Safety Law, the Rules for the Application of Administrative Punishment Discretion of the Shaanxi Provincial Market Supervision and Administration Bureau, and the Criteria for the Discretionary Standards of Administrative Punishment of the Food Safety Law, and the range is not improperly

Is it "excessive punishment" or "improper punishment"?

After the disclosure of the problem celery case, some public opinion believes that the punishment of the Yulin Market Supervision Bureau is excessive, however, the reporter learned that in the law enforcement of the Yulin Market Supervision Bureau, all processes are strictly in accordance with the Food Safety Law, the Rules for the Application of the Administrative Punishment Discretion of the Shaanxi Provincial Market Supervision and Administration Bureau and the Administrative Punishment Discretionary Standards of the Shaanxi Provincial Market Supervision and Administration Bureau

In the Yulin celery case, the Market Supervision Bureau served the "Inspection Report" and the "Notice of Inspection Results" to the parties in accordance with the law, and informed them of the right and time limit for applying for re-inspection, and also organized a hearing

On June 20, 2022, the People's Court rendered a first-instance judgment [(2022) Shaanxi 0802 Xingchu No.
24], which held that the subject matter and procedure of punishment in this case were not illegal and that the law was correct; The discretion of punishment is within the scope of the Food Safety Law, the Rules for the Application of Administrative Punishment Discretion of the Shaanxi Provincial Market Supervision and Administration Bureau, and the Criteria for the Discretionary Standards of Administrative Punishment of the Food Safety Law, and the range is not improperly
determined.
The plaintiff's accusations of the conduct complained of had no legal basis, and his litigation claim could not be established, so the judgment rejected the parties' litigation claims
.
It can be seen that the punishment of the Yulin market supervision department for the problem celery case is carried out in strict accordance with the provisions of the law, and the principle of
"excessive punishment is equal" is implemented.

"Excessive punishment is equivalent" is the basic principle
of administrative punishment.
In view of the severe situation of food safety, "heavy code and chaos" has become the leading idea
of the revision of the Food Safety Law in 2015.
The "four strictest" requirements that General Secretary Xi Jinping has repeatedly emphasized are still the guidelines
for food safety supervision.
"For those responsible for the consequences of serious food safety incidents, we must impose heavy penalties until they lose their homes!" This sentence has been widely recognized by public opinion and has been reflected in the Food Safety Law and the
implementing regulations.

As far as the problem celery case is concerned, it has not yet been found that the consequences of foodborne diseases and other consequences have been found, but it cannot be required that law enforcement departments be lightened or mitigated punishments, and one of the important principles of food safety governance is "prevention first, risk management", because such behaviors have a relatively large food safety risk, if they cannot be severely punished in accordance with laws and regulations, then it is difficult to produce a deterrent effect and achieve the social effect
of "heavy code and chaos".

The reporter learned that some media reports have caused grass-roots law enforcement personnel to wonder: Should the punishment range be confirmed in accordance with the law and discretionary rules in this case? Or can we abandon the spirit of the rule of law, pander to the public, and impose administrative penalties that have no basis or abuse?

In response, the above-mentioned legal experts responded that grass-roots law enforcement personnel must strictly follow the law to enforce the law, and in law enforcement, they must also consider the specific details of the case, but such considerations are actually reflected in discretionary
rules.

Insisting on the "four strictest" makes food safety violators pay a heavy price

Since the Eighteenth National Congress of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping has made a series of important instructions on food safety work, repeatedly emphasizing that food safety is related to people's health and life safety, we must adhere to the strictest standards, the strictest supervision, the most severe punishment, the most serious accountability, we must severely crack down on violations of laws and regulations, and take effective measures to eliminate all kinds of hidden
risks.

On March 26, 2019, the executive meeting of the State Council adopted the Regulations on the Implementation of the Food Safety Law of the People's Republic of China (Draft).

The regulations detail the main responsibilities of producers and operators, government supervision duties and accountability measures, increase the punishment of relevant responsible persons such as illegal enterprises and their legal representatives in accordance with the law and procedures, and improve food safety standards, risk monitoring and other systems
.

Premier Li Keqiang clearly demanded that the relevant responsible persons such as enterprises and their legal representatives should be further punished, and at the same time accelerate the study of disciplinary mechanisms
such as "lifelong eviction from the market".
"The people take food as the sky, and food safety is a big thing
.
" Li Keqiang stressed, "We must resolutely adhere to the bottom line of safety, ensure food safety, and safeguard people's health
.
" "Those responsible for the consequences of serious food safety incidents should be severely punished until they lose their homes!"

Relevant data show that there are many food safety violations at present, and the growth rate is amazing
.
The Yulin problem of celery shows that the production and sale of vegetables that illegally use banned pesticides have not been effectively curbed, and it is difficult to curb illegal acts
without heavy penalties.
Although some food producers and operators have encountered some difficulties at present, this is not a reason for
us to relax the implementation of laws and relax food safety requirements.
For vicious food safety cases, "heavy code and chaos" is still the most effective means
.

On August 19, 2022, the national market supervision work teleconference stressed that it is necessary to resolutely implement the people-centered development thinking, adhere to the people first, life first, overall development and security, and strictly implement the "four strictest" requirements, so that the people can really buy, eat and use comfortably
.

Read further

What is a "chlorpyrifos"?

Chlorpyrifos (also known as chlorpyridoxine) is an organophosphorus pesticide that is a cholinesterase inhibitor and is mainly used to control pests such as termites, mosquitoes and roundworms
.
Symptoms of poisoning include headache, dizziness, weakness, blurred vision, nausea, vomiting, miosis, muscle tremor, and in severe cases, pulmonary edema, coma, irritation to the eyes and skin, and sensitization
.
On December 9, 2013, the Ministry of Agriculture issued Announcement No.
2032 clearly stipulating: "From December 31, 2016, the use of chlorpyrifos and trizophos on vegetables will be completely prohibited"
.

Harm to adults

Scientists have found that even exposure to a small amount of this chemical can cause a variety of symptoms, including: runny nose, drooling, tearing, headaches, dizziness and nausea
.
These symptoms may occur
within 24 to 48 hours of exposure.
However, as exposure prolongs, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, weakness, tremors, muscle twitches, loss of coordination, and vision loss may occur; In extreme cases, breathing difficulties, coma, or even paralysis
may occur.
The scientists also found that adolescents were more sensitive
to the pesticide than adults.

Harm to infants

Extensive studies have shown that pregnant women living near farmland treated with organophosphorus or other pesticides have a higher chance of giving birth to babies diagnosed with autism or developmental disorders, and are at higher
risk of becoming exposed to pesticides in the last trimester of pregnancy.

Further studies have shown that by age 3, children with high exposure to this type of pesticide perform less well in psychomotor development assessments than children
with low exposure.

Hazards to animals

Juvenile mice, rats and rabbits exposed to chlorpyrifos have adverse effects on changes in social behavior, brain development, and developmental delays in young laboratory animals
.
Intermediate syndromes may develop 24 hours after exposure to chlorpyrifos, and symptoms may persist for days or even weeks, depending on the animal's metabolism and tolerance to the disease
.
Symptoms of intermediate syndrome include weakness in the neck, forelimbs, and respiratory muscles, loss of appetite, diarrhea, muscle tremors, unusual posture and behavior, depression, and death
.

This dangerous chemical not only harms humans and other organisms, but also pollutes the air, water and plants
on which we depend.
In any case, chlorpyrifos must be handled with appropriate protective equipment (respirators, gloves and overalls
).

(Plain Text)