Li ming
He is currently a member of the Party Leadership Group and Deputy Procurator General of the Procuratorate of Tongjiang City, Heilongjiang Province. In the past 30 years, he has worked in the fields of accusation and appeal prosecution, civil prosecution, administrative prosecution, prevention of duty crimes, public interest litigation prosecution, etc., and has won the honorary titles of "National Advanced Worker", "National Civil Servant with People's Satisfaction", "National Model of Women's Meritorious Service", "Top Ten Public Servants" and "Model Worker of Heilongjiang Province". In December 2023, he was awarded the "National Model Prosecutor".
Li Ming (second from right), his colleagues and Liu Lei (second from left), a deputy to the National People's Congress, jointly studied the protection of the intangible cultural heritage of the Hezhe people.
"Because I am busy with work, I often order takeout, and I see on the Internet that some food delivery people deliberately spit in the meal, and I don't know if the takeaway I receive is clean?"
"My son is in high school and often orders takeout with his classmates, and as a parent, he worries about the safety of his child's entrance all day long."
"It is recommended that the procuratorate strengthen supervision from the perspective of public interest litigation to protect the food safety of the people."
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This is the concern and suggestions put forward by the Tongjiang City Procuratorate of Heilongjiang Province on the safety of takeaway and food delivery during a discussion with the deputies of the National People's Congress in 2022. Online ordering is convenient and fast, but the potential safety hazards in the delivery process have worried consumers and have become a hot spot for delegates.
"Food safety has always been a key area of public interest litigation supervision by the procuratorate, please rest assured, we will immediately conduct an investigation to see how we can promote the safety and control of the whole process of takeaway food." Li Ming, then the head of the public interest litigation prosecution department, made a solemn promise to the deputies.
As a result, the special supervision of "takeaway food packaging" with the goal of ensuring the safety of takeaway food delivery was quickly launched in the Tongjiang City Procuratorate, and Li Ming arranged for members of the case-handling team to randomly order meals on several third-party platforms.
"Director, the outer packaging of this fried chicken is not sealed, and it is easy to touch the chicken nuggets."
"I ordered a soup and cake, and the box for the soup was tighter, but the outer paper bag of the cake was not sealed."
"The bibimbap I ordered, the lid of the lunch box is easy to open."
One by one, the information was fed back, and as the delegates feared, most of the outer packaging of the takeaway food was not sealed, but simply wrapped in a plastic bag and delivered to the consumer.
The packaging of takeaway food is relatively simple, and it is difficult to ensure that the food is not opened during the delivery, and it is impossible to identify whether it has been opened on the way. When Li Ming led the case team to visit takeaway businesses, food delivery riders, and local online catering platform operators, the interviewees generally expressed the hope that there would be a good way to ensure the safety of food delivery.
Back in the office, Li Ming plunged into the pile of books and materials, and immersed himself in studying the laws and regulations related to food safety. After inquiry and understanding, Li Ming found that the "Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Food Safety of Online Catering Services" promulgated by the former State Food and Drug Administration (now the State Administration for Market Regulation) clearly stipulates that online catering service providers should package catering food, avoid direct contact with food by food delivery personnel, and ensure that food is not contaminated during the delivery process. At the same time, the "Heilongjiang Provincial Food Safety Regulations" promulgated by the Standing Committee of the Heilongjiang Provincial People's Congress also has relevant provisions that catering distribution should be sealed or other methods to avoid direct contact with food by food delivery personnel.
However, through the in-depth investigation and analysis of Li Ming and the members of the case-handling team, the above-mentioned regulations have not taken root in the specific implementation process, and there are potential safety hazards in online catering distribution. In response to this situation, Li Ming led the drafting of the procuratorial proposal to supervise the online ordering platform and the online catering business to take the initiative to fulfill the main responsibility of food safety was quickly delivered to the functional departments.
"We have also found these problems in the supervision, but the willingness of merchants to cooperate with rectification is not high due to concerns about operating costs." After receiving the procuratorial proposal, the relevant person in charge of the functional department looked embarrassed and took the initiative to give feedback.
"Let's discuss together what aspects can solve food safety-related problems as soon as possible and prevent the interests of consumers from being damaged?" Li Ming did not retreat in the face of difficulties, but worked with functional departments to study solutions.
How to ensure the food safety of takeaway meal delivery at the lowest cost? At the suggestion of the case-handling team, the functional department finally locked the "one-time seal". This kind of small seal is low cost and easy to use, and the operator will pack the food and stick it on the outer packaging, if it is artificially opened or accidentally damaged during the distribution process, it cannot be restored to its original state, which can effectively prevent the food delivery staff from directly contacting the food, and reduce the risk of secondary contamination of the food in the distribution process.
Therefore, on the basis of full preparation, the functional departments and the take-out platform jointly supervise, and the take-out business must standardize the affixing of "one-time meal seals" before handing over the meals to the delivery staff to ensure that "one meal and one signature" are fully created, and comprehensively create a consumption environment that is satisfactory to the operators, delivery people and consumers.
A small takeaway food "seal" activates the relevant provisions of the "Heilongjiang Provincial Food Safety Regulations" and the "Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Food Safety of Online Catering Services", and guards the "last mile" of food safety for the people. The special supervision of "takeaway food packaging" has been praised by the deputies of the National People's Congress and consumers because of its outstanding effect: "Our takeaway has a seal, you can order it with confidence, eat it with peace of mind, and no longer worry about unsafe delivery!" ”
Focusing on the vital interests of the people, Li Ming also handled a series of public interest litigation supervision cases such as water source protection, secondary water supply, and food safety around the campus. "There are always people who have to move forward bravely for the public interest, as long as I do a solid job, I believe that whether it is the blue sky and clear water in my hometown, or the safety of the people's tongues, it will get better and better." Li Ming said.
Source: Procuratorate Daily, New Era Procuratorial Heroes List
Author: Han Bing, Liu Xiaoli
Editors: Shi Jia, Niu Xiumin, Chen Baofeng