Food Safety Knowledge | You should know these food safety knowledge!

Food Safety Science | You should know these food safety knowledge!

01

What is food quality and safety

Food quality and safety refers to the degree to which food quality guarantees the health and safety of consumers. It includes three aspects:

The first is the quality and safety issues caused by food contamination, such as biological contamination, chemical contamination, physical contamination, etc.

The second is the quality and safety issues brought about by the development of food industry technology, such as food additives, food production ingredients, media, irradiated food, genetically modified food, etc.

The third is the misuse of food labels. Examples include forged food labels, lack of warning instructions, false labeling of food functions or ingredients, lack of Chinese food labels (imported food), etc.

02

How to ensure food safety in life

03

Food safety tips

1. When buying food, pay attention to whether the food packaging has the manufacturer, production date, whether it has passed the shelf life, whether the food ingredients and nutritional ingredients are marked, and whether there is a QS mark.

2. Open the food package and check whether the food has the properties it should have. Do not eat food that is rotten, rancid, moldy, or infested with insects.

3. Pay attention to personal hygiene, wash your hands before and after meals, wash and disinfect your own tableware, and do not use unclean containers to hold food.

4. Eat less fried and pan-fried foods.

04

Food safety promotion: tips for purchasing

1. Check the packaging: the product packaging should be tight and intact, the trademark content should be complete, and the product name, factory name, factory address, net weight, main ingredients, production date and shelf life should be clearly visible.

2. Look at the color: The color of the product should be consistent with the product name. If the color is too bright and unnatural, it may be due to excessive addition of pigment. Do not buy or use it.

3. Smell the aroma: The aroma of the product should be consistent with the product name, and the aroma should be soft and non-pungent. If there is an odor, it indicates that it has deteriorated.

4. Taste: The product should have a sweet and sour taste, and should not have bitterness, astringency, or alcohol taste (except alcoholic beverages).

05

Food safety promotion: recommendations for preventing foodborne diseases

1. Do not buy or eat food that is rotten, spoiled, dirty, unclean, or contains other harmful substances.

2. Do not use food of unknown origin; do not buy food without complete labels such as factory name, address and expiration date.

3. Do not patronize unlicensed mobile stalls and restaurants with poor hygiene conditions; do not buy or consume low-quality food and drinks sold by street vendors.

4. Do not eat cooked food or leftover food that has been left at room temperature for more than 2 hours.

5. Do not eat wild vegetables and fruits casually.

6. Wash fruits and vegetables before eating them raw.

7. Wash your hands before eating or after going to the toilet, and develop the habit of washing your hands before eating.

06

Emergency measures after food poisoning

After food poisoning occurs, do not panic. Severe vomiting and diarrhea are accompanied by pain in the upper and middle abdomen. Food poisoners often experience dehydration symptoms such as dry mouth and sunken eyes due to vomiting and diarrhea. You can take the following emergency measures:

Drinking water: Immediately drink plenty of clean water to dilute the toxins.

Induce vomiting: Use your fingers to press on the throat and vomit as much food as possible from the stomach.

Treatment: Effectively deal with the food that causes the poisoning to prevent more people from being harmed.

07

Knowledge of food safety laws and regulations

1. Which operators need to apply for a Food Business License?

According to Article 35 of the Food Safety Law, the state implements a licensing system for food production and operation. Those engaged in food (including health food) production, food sales, and catering services must obtain a license in accordance with the law and apply for a Food Operation License before they can engage in food production and operation.

2. What legal responsibilities do you have to bear if you engage in food production and operation without obtaining a Food Operation License?

Article 122 of the Food Safety Law: If anyone violates the provisions of this Law by engaging in food production and operation activities without obtaining a food production and operation license, or engaging in food additive production activities without obtaining a food additive production license, the food safety supervision and management department of the people's government at or above the county level shall confiscate the illegal gains and the illegally produced and operated food, food additives, and tools, equipment, raw materials and other items used for illegal production and operation; if the value of the illegally produced and operated food and food additives is less than RMB 10,000, a fine of not less than RMB 50,000 but not more than RMB 100,000 shall be imposed; if the value of the goods is more than RMB 10,000, a fine of not less than ten times but not more than twenty times the value of the goods shall be imposed. If anyone knowingly engages in the illegal acts specified in the preceding paragraph and still provides them with production and operation sites or other conditions, the food safety supervision and management department of the people's government at or above the county level shall order them to stop the illegal acts, confiscate the illegal gains, and impose a fine of not less than RMB 50,000 but not more than RMB 100,000; if the legitimate rights and interests of consumers are damaged, they shall bear joint and several liability with the food and food additive producers and operators.

3. Which foods are prohibited from production and operation?

Article 34 of the Food Safety Law prohibits the production and sale of the following foods, food additives, and food-related products:

(1) Food produced from non-food raw materials, or food added with chemical substances other than food additives and other substances that may harm human health, or food produced from recycled food as raw materials;

(ii) Food, food additives, and food-related products that contain pathogenic microorganisms, pesticide residues, veterinary drug residues, biotoxins, heavy metals and other pollutants, and other substances that are harmful to human health in amounts exceeding the limits set by food safety standards;

(3) Food or food additives produced using food raw materials or food additives that have exceeded their shelf life;

(IV) Foods that use food additives beyond the scope or limit;

(V) Main and supplementary foods for infants and other specific groups whose nutritional content does not meet food safety standards;

(6) Food or food additives that are rotten, rancid, moldy, infested with insects, dirty, mixed with foreign matter, adulterated, or have abnormal sensory properties;

(VII) Meat and its products from poultry, livestock, beasts, and aquatic animals that died of disease, poisoning, or unknown causes;

(8) Meat that has not been quarantined in accordance with regulations or has failed quarantine, or meat products that have not been inspected or have failed inspection;

(IX) Food and food additives contaminated by packaging materials, containers, transportation vehicles, etc.;

(10) Food or food additives with false production dates or expiration dates or that have exceeded their expiration dates;

(11) Unlabeled pre-packaged food and food additives;

(XII) Foods that are expressly prohibited from production and sale by the State for special needs such as disease prevention;

(13) Other foods, food additives, and food-related products that do not comply with laws, regulations, or food safety standards.

4. What legal responsibilities do you have to bear if you illegally operate prohibited food production and operation?

Article 123 of the Food Safety Law: In any of the following circumstances, which does not constitute a crime, the food safety supervision and management department of the people's government at or above the county level shall confiscate the illegal gains and illegally produced and sold food, and may confiscate the tools, equipment, raw materials and other items used for illegal production and operation; if the value of the illegally produced and sold food is less than RMB 10,000, a fine of not less than RMB 100,000 but not more than RMB 150,000 shall be imposed; if the value of the food is more than RMB 10,000, a fine of not less than 15 times but not more than 30 times the value of the food shall be imposed; in serious cases, the license shall be revoked, and the public security organ may detain the directly responsible supervisor and other directly responsible persons for not less than 5 days but not more than 15 days:

(1) Using non-food raw materials to produce food, adding chemical substances other than food additives and other substances that may harm human health to food, or using recycled food as raw materials to produce food, or operating the above-mentioned foods;

(2) Producing and selling staple and supplementary foods for infants and other specific groups whose nutritional content does not meet food safety standards;

(3) Dealing in the meat of poultry, livestock, beasts, or aquatic animals that have died of disease, poisoning, or unknown causes, or producing or dealing in their products;

(iv) operating meat that has not been quarantined in accordance with regulations or that has failed quarantine, or producing and operating meat products that have not been inspected or that have failed inspection;

(5) Producing and selling food that is expressly prohibited by the state for special needs such as disease prevention;

(6) Production and sale of food containing added drugs.

If anyone knowingly provides production and operation sites or other conditions for persons engaging in the illegal activities specified in the preceding paragraph, the food safety supervision and management department of the people's government at or above the county level shall order the person to stop the illegal activities, confiscate the illegal gains, and impose a fine of not less than RMB 100,000 yuan but not more than RMB 200,000 yuan; if the legitimate rights and interests of consumers are damaged, the person shall bear joint and several liability with the food producer and operator.

Those who illegally use highly toxic or extremely toxic pesticides may, in addition to being punished in accordance with relevant laws and regulations, be detained by the public security organs in accordance with the provisions of the first paragraph.

Article 124 of the Food Safety Law: In any of the following circumstances, which does not constitute a crime, the food safety supervision and management department of the people's government at or above the county level shall confiscate the illegal gains and the illegally produced and sold food and food additives, and may confiscate the tools, equipment, raw materials and other items used for illegal production and operation; if the value of the illegally produced and sold food and food additives is less than RMB 10,000, a fine of not less than RMB 50,000 but not more than RMB 100,000 shall be imposed; if the value of the goods is more than RMB 10,000, a fine of not less than 10 times but not more than 20 times the value of the goods shall be imposed; in serious cases, the license shall be revoked:

(1) Producing and selling foods and food additives that contain pathogenic microorganisms, pesticide residues, veterinary drug residues, biological toxins, heavy metals and other pollutants, as well as other substances that are harmful to human health, exceeding the limits set by food safety standards;

(2) Producing food or food additives using food raw materials or food additives that have exceeded their shelf life, or operating the above-mentioned food or food additives;

(3) Producing or selling food that uses food additives beyond the scope or limit;

(iv) producing or selling food or food additives that are spoiled, rancid, moldy, infested with insects, dirty, mixed with foreign matter, adulterated, or have abnormal sensory properties;

(V) Producing and selling food or food additives with false production dates or expiration dates, or with expiration dates that have exceeded their expiration dates;

(VI) Producing and selling health foods, special medical purpose formula foods, and infant formula milk powder that have not been registered in accordance with regulations, or organizing production in violation of the registered product formula, production process and other technical requirements;

(VII) Producing infant formula milk powder by repackaging, or the same enterprise producing different brands of infant formula milk powder with the same formula;

(8) Using new food raw materials to produce food, or producing new varieties of food additives, without passing safety assessment;

(IX) Food producers and operators refuse to recall or stop operations after being ordered to do so by the food safety supervision and management department.

Except for the circumstances stipulated in the preceding paragraph and Articles 123 and 125 of this Law, anyone who produces or sells food or food additives that do not comply with laws, regulations or food safety standards shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph.

If a new variety of food-related products is produced but fails to pass the safety assessment, or if food-related products are produced that do not meet the food safety standards, the food safety supervision and management department of the people's government at or above the county level shall impose penalties in accordance with the provisions of the first paragraph.

5. What are food adulteration, adulteration and counterfeiting?

(a) “Adulteration” means the addition of cheap or non-nutritious items to food, or the removal of nutritious substances from food or their replacement by inferior substances, thereby reducing the quality, such as adding invert sugar to honey, adding coloring to chocolate biscuits, and removing fat from whole milk powder.

(2) "Adulteration" means adding some foreign matter into food, such as adding sodium silicate or borax into bean curd sticks; adding red brick powder into chili powder, etc.

(iii) “Counterfeit” means that the packaging label or product description does not match the contents.

6. After a food safety incident, who can consumers ask to bear the compensation liability?

Article 147 of the Food Safety Law: Anyone who violates the provisions of this Law and causes personal injury, property damage or other damage shall bear compensation liability in accordance with the law. If the property of the producer or operator is insufficient to bear civil compensation liability and pay fines, the producer or operator shall bear civil compensation liability first.

Article 148 of the Food Safety Law states that if consumers are harmed by food that does not meet food safety standards, they may demand compensation from the operator or the producer. The producer or operator who receives the consumer's claim for compensation shall implement the first responsibility system, pay compensation first, and shall not shirk responsibility; if the producer is responsible, the operator shall have the right to seek compensation from the producer after paying compensation; if the operator is responsible, the producer shall have the right to seek compensation from the operator after paying compensation.

In case of production of food that does not meet food safety standards or operation of food knowingly not meeting food safety standards, consumers may, in addition to demanding compensation for losses, demand from producers or operators to pay ten times the price or three times the losses as compensation; if the amount of additional compensation is less than RMB 1,000, it shall be RMB 1,000. However, this does not apply to defects in food labels or instructions that do not affect food safety and will not mislead consumers.

Article 149 of the Food Safety Law: Anyone who violates the provisions of this Law and constitutes a crime shall be investigated for criminal liability in accordance with the law.

7. How to pursue criminal liability for crimes involving food safety?

Article 143 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China [Crime of producing and selling food that does not meet safety standards] Whoever produces or sells food that does not meet food safety standards and that is sufficient to cause serious food poisoning accidents or other serious foodborne diseases shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention and a fine; if it causes serious harm to human health or there are other serious circumstances, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than seven years and a fine; if the consequences are especially serious, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than seven years or life imprisonment and a fine or confiscation of property.

Article 144 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China [Crime of producing and selling toxic and harmful food] Whoever mixes toxic or harmful non-food raw materials into the food he produces or sells, or who knowingly sells food that contains toxic or harmful non-food raw materials, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than five years and a fine; if it causes serious harm to human health or there are other serious circumstances, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than five years but not more than ten years and a fine; if it causes death or there are other especially serious circumstances, he shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of Article 141 of this Law (imprisonment of not less than ten years, life imprisonment or death penalty, and a fine or confiscation of property).