Recently, the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission officially issued the Opinions on依法从严查处危害食品安全违法犯罪 (Opinions on Strictly Investigating and Punishing Food Safety Violations and Crimes in Accordance with the Law), wielding the sword of the law against all kinds of food safety violations and crimes and protecting the safety of the public’s dining tables through stricter enforcement standards. On 10 month 12, a relevant official from the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission gave an authoritative interpretation of the document, sending a clear and strong signal that strictness would be the priority and enforced to the end. It calls for intensified action against categories of great concern to the public, including meat products, school food, health foods, vegetables, and fruit, and heavier penalties for offenders in serious cases, substantially raising the cost of food safety violations and crimes.
Food safety oversight has been stepped up once again. A major directive targeting food-related illegal activities has been officially issued, designating meat products as a key area for oversight. Strict controls now cover the entire chain, from processing at the source and online sales to food-service businesses and imported goods. Cold-storage operators, meat wholesalers, and food-ingredient suppliers all need to understand the policy direction.
In recent years, food safety crimes have increasingly taken on networked and chain-based characteristics, and repeated incidents involving non-compliant food ingredients have sounded the alarm across the industry. This document upholds the four strictest principles of oversight and maintains zero tolerance for food-related violations. As an essential category for people’s livelihoods, meat products are a top priority in this enforcement campaign.
Full-chain oversight: these frozen-food practices are a key focus of inspections
Oversight is no longer limited to a single stage. Meat products, school food, fruit and vegetables, and health foods have all been included as key areas at the same time, placing the entire frozen-food supply chain under regulatory scrutiny.
The enforcement focus is on long-standing problems in the industry: smuggled frozen meat; frozen goods of untraceable origin; frozen products that have spoiled; products processed from animals or poultry that died of disease; and the falsification of production dates on frozen products, the refurbishment of products nearing their expiration dates, the sale of expired frozen products, and the illegal addition of preservatives during production.
Whether through offline wholesale markets and cold storage warehouses, or online sales channels such as fresh-food e-commerce and livestream selling, whenever meat products are involved in food safety crimes, the entire criminal chain will be thoroughly investigated and all relevant industry personnel will be held accountable.
Sentencing standards tightened, with strict controls on suspended sentences and exemptions from punishment
The biggest change in this opinion is that a strict approach to handling cases runs throughout the entire process, from investigation and arrest to prosecution and trial. For food safety cases, the scope for suspended sentences and exemptions from criminal punishment will be strictly limited. Cases involving particularly egregious circumstances and significant negative social impact will be subject to directly heavier sentences.
Simply put, the days of making illicit profits from substandard meat products are over. Violations are no longer dealt with by a simple fine; criminal accountability has been significantly strengthened, the cost of illegal activity has multiplied, and this has created a powerful deterrent across the industry.
Two-way coordination between administrative law enforcement and criminal justice to prevent fines from replacing criminal prosecution
In the past, some food safety cases had unclear penalty standards, and cases that should have been referred to the judicial authorities were handled only through administrative penalties. The new regulations establish a coordination mechanism between administrative law enforcement and criminal justice. The competent authorities, including market regulation and agriculture and rural affairs departments, have established channels for coordination with political and legal authorities, clarified standards for case transfers, inspection and appraisal, and the conversion of evidence, and set up an information-sharing platform for two-way coordination.
If problematic meat products are discovered in the future and meet the threshold for a crime, the case will be referred directly to the judicial authorities for handling. It will not be closed with a simple fine, thereby eliminating the loophole of “replacing criminal prosecution with a fine.”
Shift the focus to prevention at the source and identify risks early
This approach shifts the focus from investigating and pursuing accountability after the fact to prevention at the source beforehand. After investigating risks in the industry, the case-handling authorities may issue procuratorial recommendations and police advisory letters, urging slaughterhouses, wholesale markets, and upstream suppliers to improve management processes such as maintaining documentation and ledgers, inspecting incoming goods, and recording product storage, and to address gaps in management.
Future revisions to the Food Safety Law will improve regulatory provisions for emerging business formats such as food delivery, fresh-food e-commerce, and livestream sales, and reinforce the responsibilities of all parties. The list of newly identified illegal additives will also be updated on an ongoing basis, and standards for adjudicating cases will be unified.
The industry is facing a shake-up; compliance is the only way to ensure long-term viability
Under this round of intensive enforcement, compliant businesses that maintain traceability and have complete qualifications will benefit from industry growth. The operating space for those involved in illegal smuggling, selling spoiled goods, or altering product dates continues to shrink. The industry disorder in which bad actors drive out good ones is improving, giving businesses that follow the rules a fairer market environment.
The risks for operators who take chances have risen sharply. If the source of goods is unclear, quarantine certificates are missing, shelf life is altered at will, or frozen products are processed with unauthorized additives, a case will be opened and investigated as soon as this is discovered. Do not cross legal boundaries for short-term profit.
Food safety oversight has entered a sustained phase of intensive enforcement. For a long-term, stable meat business, compliance is essential. Strictly control supplier entry, keep proper records, standardize storage and label management, and uphold food safety standards to ensure the business can operate with confidence over the long term.
Industry oversight continues to tighten. For frozen goods operators, promptly completing invoices, certificates, and records, and improving product traceability systems are the most important tasks at present.