2022-08 (Part 1) Do you have a business license to eat cucumbers?

Wen / Li Meiyan Wang Junjie Sun Ziqing

Since late July, a number of restaurants in Hefei, Chizhou and other places in Anhui Province have been fined 5,000 yuan by the regulatory authorities for selling cold dishes such as cold cucumbers without obtaining cold food business qualifications, which has aroused heated public opinion. The person in charge of the Catering Service Safety Supervision Department of the Hefei Municipal Market Supervision Bureau responded that if a catering service provider needs to have a cold food production and sales license for the production and sale of cold dishes, "many smaller restaurants may not increase the production and sale of cold food in the business project when they first apply for a license."

In this incident, the fines in Hefei and other places are very clear: according to the laws and regulations on food management, if a catering unit wants to operate cold vegetable products, the business project of the Food Business License must have a "cold food production and sale", otherwise it is a business beyond the scope.

Coincidentally, in 2017, a hot pot restaurant in Huangpu District, Guangzhou City, was also confiscated for 139 yuan earned in 21 days for selling "patting cucumber" cold vegetables, but did not have a "cold food production and sale" business license, and was also notified of an administrative penalty of 10,000 yuan.

So, have the restaurants selling "cucumber shoots" in Guangzhou now obtained relevant business licenses?

At noon on August 2, a reporter from Yangcheng Evening News randomly visited 14 street food shops in Yuexiu, Tianhe and Huangpu, and found that 11 of them included "cold food production and sale" in the business project of the "Food Business License", and only 3 were selling cold vegetables but did not obtain the qualification.

At a noodle restaurant on Mingyue 2nd Road in Yuexiu District, the "Food Business License" business item hanging on the wall only includes "hot food production and sale", but the menu has cold dishes such as "cold cucumber", "sugar mixed tomatoes" and "cold mix beef" for sale.

In a northwest restaurant located on The Right South Street of Siyou in Yuexiu District, the food business qualification also only includes "hot food production and sale", but there are still cold dishes such as "celery mixed with peanuts" and "mixed cucumbers". On the large menu at the entrance of the restaurant, most of the cold dishes sold at the counter were not listed, and the waiter's explanation was: "The menu is too small to write, and you can see it by scanning the code to order." After scanning the code, it was found that the store was selling 13 cold dishes.

At a noodle restaurant on Chebei Road in Tianhe District, the menu has cold dishes such as "refreshing autumn ear", "wakame" and "spicy melon strips", but its "Food Business License" does not indicate the words "cold food production and sale", but only "bulk food sales (including refrigerated frozen food, excluding bulk cooked food, excluding bulk wine)".

Search on the takeaway platform with the keyword of "shoot cucumbers" and enter the page of the merchant selling the cold dish to query its "Food Business License". After rough statistics, it is found that starting from Tangxia Village in Tianhe District, most of the surrounding restaurants selling cold dishes such as "shooting cucumbers" are mainly engaged in barbecue, crayfish, etc. Among the 15 stores, 13 of the "Food Business Licenses" indicate that there are words such as "cold food production and sale (only raw food melons, fruits and vegetables, pickled vegetables)" or "cold food food production and sale (excluding roasted cooked meat)", and only two business projects do not indicate the production and sale of cold food or only "manufacture and sale of Chinese fast food".

There is a debate about the punishment on social media platforms, "Can you still click on cucumbers in the next restaurant" Read 120 million, and related topics once rushed to the hot search. Some netizens support: food safety is no small matter, and the fine is justified; Some netizens are puzzled: a "shoot cucumber" will be fined 5,000 yuan, is it too heavy?

"I'd rather be strict than let down a little vigilance." Netizens "@umabu" believe that cold food and cold mixed vegetables have not been heated and sterilized, which is a big risk, "if the kitchen environment is not good, the unfortunate thing is that you and I are consumers, so pay attention to a little, there is no mistake." Netizen "@jerrycn" also said that "this time the administrative supervision department of the station". He believes that the production and sale of cold vegetables must have a corresponding license, which is a common sense, and to apply for a cold food license, it is necessary to set up a special cold vegetable room in accordance with the requirements of the administrative supervision department to prevent bacteria from exceeding the standard and being unhygienic.

There are also some netizens who feel that the small shop is very "wronged", and the price is too high. Netizen "@ Seewa Daddy" said that these small restaurants were difficult to operate under the epidemic, and if the penalty was 5,000 yuan, the small shop may be in vain in two or three months. "This is an administrative penalty that is debatable." Netizen "@ Dream Jinan" believes that administrative punishment is not only legal, but also needs to meet the principle of rationality and proportionality, "the catering industry has been affected by the epidemic, a considerable number of practitioners are struggling to support, the fine of 5,000 yuan is not heavy, everyone has a number in mind."

Meng Qingen, a lawyer at Beijing Zhongwen (Shanghai) Law Firm, said that some food business operators do not know that the production and sale of cold food need to clarify the corresponding qualifications when applying for the Food Business License, and the regulatory authorities punish the illegal acts of relevant entities, "just to popularize the law to other illegal business entities, so that they can take the initiative to rectify their own business behavior."

"Shoot cucumbers" need a 5 square meter separate compartment?

So, is it difficult for small restaurants to increase the business project of cold food? According to media reports, the relevant regulatory authorities of Hefei City said in response to the requirements of cold food permits that an independent space with an area of not less than 5 square meters is required, with disinfection facilities for secondary dressing, air disinfection equipment and independent air conditioning.

However, this response did not calm public opinion, but provoked a higher voice. Many netizens believe that although food safety is recognized as strictly managed, if this acceptance standard is followed, the threshold of "independent space of not less than 5 square meters" has deterred many small restaurants.

Do small restaurants in Guangdong also need 5 square meters of independent compartments to sell "shoot cucumbers"? A review of the "Guangdong Provincial Market Supervision and Administration Bureau's Implementation Rules on Food Business Licenses (Trial)" found that the relevant regulatory authorities in Guangdong Province require that "the production of cold food and raw food should be set up separately", but the area of the special room is not specifically required.

The Guangdong Provincial Market Supervision and Administration Bureau issued the "On-site Verification Form for The Fourth Type of Food Business License" for small restaurants, which proposes three standards for the verification of the special room: First, there is no clear ditch in the special room, and the floor drain is water sealed. The food delivery window is open and closed, and the other windows are closed. The wall skirt of the special room is laid to the top. The private room door closes automatically. Second, the special room is equipped with independent air-conditioning facilities, special refrigeration facilities and air disinfection facilities suitable for the area of the special room. Third, there are facilities for handwashing, disinfection and changing at the entrance of the special room.

For the requirements for independent space for cold food, the State Administration for Market Regulation had relevant guidelines in its response to public comments in June 2021.

In response to a question from netizen "@Mr. Wang" that "has obtained the "Food Business License", but the business scope does not have cold food production and sale", the State Administration for Market Supervision and Administration Law Enforcement Inspection Bureau said that according to the relevant provisions of the "Food Safety Operation Code for Catering Services", "the following processing and production can be carried out in the special room or in the special operation area: meal preparation, processing and production of freshly squeezed fruit and vegetable juice, fruit and vegetable platters, etc., and only processing and making plant-based cold food (excluding non-fermented soy products); Prepackaged food is provided after simple processing such as unpacking, plate, seasoning, etc.; Condiments for consumers to consume directly. ”

The response clearly states that from a safety perspective, only the processing of plant-based cold food does not require a special room, and can be carried out in a clean and dedicated operating area.