Online catering safety is closely tied to people’s daily dining tables and bears on public wellbeing and popular support. Since the start of this year, the Huaihua Municipal Administration for Market Regulation has taken the opportunity of the centralized rectification of unhealthy practices and corruption issues affecting the public. Adhering to a problem-oriented approach, targeted governance and technology-enabled supervision, the authority has coordinated efforts from three dimensions: enforcing accountability, rigorous law enforcement, and multi-stakeholder social co-governance. It systematically addresses chronic problems plaguing the online catering sector, fully standardizes market order, and safeguards public food safety with concrete, forceful measures.
Pooling Coordinated Strength to Strengthen Accountability Chains and Drive Forceful Rectification
Prioritizing people’s livelihoods, the CPC Huaihua Municipal Committee and Huaihua Municipal People’s Government have set mandatory targets of five 100% compliance rates for the rectification campaign, and identified “Internet + AI Supervision” as a core working tool. The municipal market regulation bureau has listed this special rectification as a top annual priority. A dedicated task force was set up to formulate two work plans and two task lists, alongside a regular weekly consultation and monthly coordination mechanism to cascade regulatory accountability to all levels.
Focusing on platform operators’ primary responsibilities, authorities conducted two full rounds of administrative interviews with cooperating platforms including Meituan, JD.com and Taobao Flash Purchase. Regulators inspected platforms 76 times and provided administrative guidance to 60 platforms, prompting platforms to self-inspect and rectify 211 irregularities, and remove 30 illegal advertisements and false promotional content. These moves build a solid frontline for industry oversight at the source.
Strengthening Rigorous Supervision to Purify the Industry Ecosystem and Deliver Precise Law Enforcement
Online patrols and offline on-site inspections are carried out in tandem, with close oversight of food delivery platforms and registered catering merchants. Classified regulatory files have been established for all relevant entities, achieving a 100% rate of platform interview guidance and merchant file creation, covering a total of 6,123 online catering vendors.
Targeted sampling inspections and unannounced off-site inspections without prior notice or accompanying officials were rolled out for high-risk business types such as delivery-only eateries and internet-famous restaurants. Regulators completed 356 special sampling tests and identified 2,696 potential safety hazards. Cross-departmental collaboration with public security and health authorities was deepened via a mechanism for clue sharing and joint law enforcement. Authorities filed 173 investigation cases, shut down 117 non-compliant accounts and stores, and referred over 20 irregularity clues, creating a strong deterrent effect through consistent, stringent oversight.
Leveraging Smart Governance to Build a Co-governance Framework and Advance In-depth Long-term Regulation
The city has expanded and upgraded its “Internet + AI Supervision” system, with 2,807 catering businesses connected to the smart supervision platform. By linking government and enterprise data interfaces, an automatic business qualification verification system was launched, lifting the qualification verification rate to 94.9% and eliminating unlicensed online catering operations at the source.
AI patrols and online intelligent monitoring tools accurately flagged 57 violations including incomplete business licenses and false advertising, and ordered platforms to delete 27 non-compliant food listings. The innovative campaign “Riders Unite to Guard Food Safety” encourages delivery riders to photograph and report hazards on the spot in real time. Disciplinary inspection joint oversight and dual investigation for each violation case were implemented, with 4 relevant clues referred for follow-up. The 12315 hotline and online reporting channels remain open to the public, receiving 286 consumer complaints and 2 public letters, all of which achieved a 100% verification, handling and response rate. A sound model featuring broad public participation and cross-sector social co-governance has taken initial shape.
Moving forward, Huaihua will further refine its three-dimensional governance system, optimize smart supervision models, detail regular oversight measures, and expand the scope and depth of social co-governance. With sustained perseverance and tangible outcomes, the city will firmly uphold the bottom line of online catering safety and continuously boost residents’ sense of gain, happiness and security.
(Translated by Tian Xia)