Anti-Food Waste Law of the People's Republic of China
Article 1: This Law is drafted on the basis of the Constitution so as to prevent food waste, ensure national food security, carry forward the traditional virtues of the Chinese nation, practice the Core Socialist Values, conserve resources, protect the environment, and promote sustainable economic and social development.
Article 2 "Food" as used in this Law refers to the food provided for in the Food Safety Law of the People's Republic of China, including all kinds of food for human consumption or drinking. "Food waste" as used in this Law refers to the failure to reasonably use food that is safe for consumption or drinking in accordance with its functional purpose, including discarding, or a decrease in the quantity or quality of food due to unreasonable use.
Article 3 The State practices economy and opposes waste. The State adheres to the principles of simultaneous measures, precise policy, scientific management, and social co-governance, and adopts technically feasible and economically reasonable measures to prevent and reduce food waste. The state advocates civilized, healthy, resource-saving, and environment-friendly consumption patterns, and advocates a simple, moderate, green and low-carbon lifestyle.
Article 4: All levels of people's government shall strengthen leadership of efforts to counter food waste, determine goals and tasks for countering food waste, establish and complete mechanisms for countering food waste, organize monitoring, investigation, analysis, and assessment of food waste, strengthen oversight and management, and advance efforts to counter food waste.
Local people's governments at the county level or above shall annually announce to the public the situation of countering food waste, propose to strengthen measures to counter food waste, and continue to promote the entire society's efforts to counter food waste.
Article 5: The development and reform department of the State Council shall strengthen the organization and coordination of efforts to counter food waste nationwide; In conjunction with the relevant departments of the State Council, analyze and assess the situation of food waste annually, make overall arrangements for efforts to counter food waste, and put forward relevant work measures and opinions, to be implemented by all relevant departments.
The competent department of commerce under the State Council shall strengthen the management of the catering industry, establish and improve industry standards and service specifications; In conjunction with the State Council's departments for market regulation and so forth, establish systems and norms for countering food waste in the catering industry, employing measures to encourage catering service operators to provide meal distribution services and disclose to the public their countering food waste.
The State Council departments for market regulation shall strengthen oversight of food producers and traders' efforts to counter food waste, urging food producers and traders to implement measures to counter food waste.
The state grain and material reserve departments shall strengthen the management of grain saving and loss reduction in the process of grain storage and circulation, and organize the implementation of grain storage, transportation, and processing standards in conjunction with the relevant departments of the State Council.
In accordance with this Law and the duties provided by the State Council, the relevant departments of the State Council are to employ measures to carry out efforts to counter food waste.
Article 6: State organs, people's organizations, state-owned enterprises, and public institutions shall, in accordance with relevant state provisions, refine and improve the norms for meals for official receptions, meetings, training, and other official activities, strengthen management, take the lead in practicing strict economy, and oppose waste.
Where it is necessary to arrange meals for official activities, the number and form of meals shall be arranged frugally on the basis of actual conditions, and must not exceed the standards provided.
Article 7: Food and beverage service operators shall employ the following measures to prevent food waste:
(1) Establish and improve the management system for food procurement, storage and processing, strengthen the vocational training of service personnel, and include cherishing food and opposing waste in the training content;
(2) Proactively carry out reminders and reminders for consumers to prevent food waste, posting or placing anti-food waste signs in conspicuous locations, or having service personnel prompt and explain, guiding consumers to order an appropriate amount of food as needed;
(3) Improve the quality of food and beverage supply, make food in accordance with standards and specifications, reasonably determine the quantity and quantity, and provide small meals and other different specifications to choose from;
(4) Where group meal services are provided, the concept of preventing food waste shall be included in the menu design, and dishes and staple foods shall be reasonably allocated according to the number of diners;
(5) Where buffet services are provided, they shall proactively inform consumers of the rules for consumption and the requirements for preventing food waste, provide tableware of different specifications, and remind consumers to take appropriate amounts of food.
Food and beverage service operators must not induce or mislead consumers to order more than they want.
Food service operators can enrich menu information by marking food portions, specifications, and recommended number of consumers on the menu, provide consumers with ordering tips, and provide spoons, chopsticks, and packaging services according to consumers' needs.
Catering service operators may reward consumers who participate in the "CD-ROM Campaign"; Consumers who cause obvious waste can also be charged the corresponding fees for the disposal of kitchen waste, and the charging standards should be clearly indicated.
Catering service operators can use information technology to analyze meal demand, and scientifically manage food procurement, transportation, storage, and processing through measures such as building central kitchens and distribution centers.
Article 8: Units with canteens shall establish and complete systems for the management of dining in canteens, draft and implement measures to prevent food waste, strengthen publicity and education, and increase awareness of countering food waste.
Unit canteens shall strengthen the dynamic management of food procurement, storage, and processing, procure, cook, and prepare meals according to the number of diners, improve the utilization rate of raw materials and cooking levels, and provide meals in accordance with the principles of health, economy, and standardization, and pay attention to dietary balance.
Unit cafeterias shall improve the methods of providing meals, posting or placing anti-food waste signs in conspicuous locations, and guiding diners to order and pick up meals in an appropriate amount; Where there is wasteful conduct, it shall be promptly reminded and corrected.
Article 9: Schools shall monitor, analyze, and evaluate the number and structure of diners, and strengthen the management of school cafeteria catering services; Where off-campus feeding units are selected, they shall establish and complete mechanisms for introduction and withdrawal, and select the best.
School cafeterias and off-campus feeding units shall strengthen refined management, provide meals on demand, improve feeding methods, scientifically and nutritious catering, enrich the selection of different specifications and flavors, and regularly listen to the opinions of diners to ensure the quality of dishes and staple foods.
Article 10: Food and beverage takeaway platforms shall remind consumers to order an appropriate amount of food in a conspicuous manner. Where food and beverage service operators provide services through food and beverage takeaway platforms, they shall provide consumers with information such as the amount of food, specifications, or the recommended number of consumers on the platform page.
Article 11 Tour operators shall guide tourists to eat in a civilized and healthy manner. Travel agencies and tour guides shall reasonably arrange group meals and remind tourists to order and pick up meals in moderation. Relevant industries shall include tourism operators' efforts to counter food waste in the relevant quality standard assessment indicators.
Article 12 Supermarkets, shopping malls and other food business operators shall strengthen daily inspections of the food they handle, and classify and manage the food that is close to the expiration date, and make special labels or centralized display and sale.
Article 13: People's governments at all levels and their relevant departments shall take measures to oppose extravagance and waste, encourage and promote civilized and frugal activities, and create an atmosphere in which waste is shameful and thrift is proud.
For weddings, funerals, gatherings of friends and families, business activities, and other occasions that require meals, the organizers and participants shall appropriately prepare and order meals, and eat in a civilized and healthy manner.
Article 14: Individuals shall establish a civilized, healthy, rational, and green concept of consumption, and reasonably order and pick up meals based on their personal health status, eating habits, and meal needs when dining out.
In family life, families and their members shall cultivate and form good habits of being scientific and healthy, making the best use of things, and preventing waste, and procure, store, and prepare food according to the actual needs of daily life.
Article 15 The State shall improve the standards for the production, storage, transportation and processing of grain and other edible agricultural products, promote the use of new technologies, new processes and new equipment, guide appropriate processing and comprehensive utilization, and reduce losses.
Food producers and traders shall take measures to improve the conditions for food storage, transportation and processing, prevent food from deteriorating, and reduce losses in storage and transportation; Improve the utilization rate of food processing and avoid over-processing and over-use of raw materials.
Article 16: The formulation and revision of relevant national, industry, and local standards shall make the prevention of food waste an important consideration, and on the premise of ensuring food safety, prevent waste to the greatest extent.
The shelf life of food should be set scientifically and reasonably, clearly marked, and easy to identify.
Article 17: All levels of people's government and their relevant departments shall establish mechanisms for oversight and inspections of countering food waste, and promptly urge corrections of food waste issues discovered.
Where food producers and traders seriously waste food in the course of food production and operation, the departments for market regulation and commerce of local people's governments at the county level or above may give their legally-designated representatives or principal responsible persons a giving a talk. The interviewed food producers and traders shall immediately make corrections.
Article 18: The departments for the management of government organs' affairs, in conjunction with relevant departments, are to establish systems for assessing and reporting the effectiveness of efforts to counter food waste in government canteens, and include countering food waste in the content of public institutions' energy conservation and resource conservation evaluations and the creation of conservation-oriented organs.
Article 19: Food and catering industry associations, and so forth, shall strengthen industry self-discipline, lawfully drafting and implementing group standards and industry self-discipline norms such as countering food waste, publicizing and popularizing knowledge on the prevention of food waste, promoting advanced models, guiding members to conscientiously carry out activities to counter food waste, and employing necessary self-discipline measures for members with wasteful conduct.
Food and catering industry associations and so forth shall carry out food waste monitoring, strengthen analysis and assessment, and annually release to the public the situation related to countering food waste and the results of monitoring and assessment, providing support for state organs in drafting laws, regulations, policies, and standards, and carrying out research on relevant issues, and accepting societal oversight.
Consumer associations and other consumer organizations shall strengthen education on food consumption for consumers, and guide the formation of consumption habits that consciously resist waste.
Article 20: State organs, people's organizations, social organizations, enterprises, public institutions, and basic-level mass autonomous organizations shall make strict economy and opposition to waste the content of mass activities to create a spiritual civilization, and include them in the relevant creation and assessment systems, as well as local citizens' conventions, village rules, industry norms, and so forth, to strengthen publicity, education, and scientific popularization of countering food waste, promoting the development of "CD-ROM Actions", advocating a civilized, healthy, and scientific food culture, and increasing the public's awareness of countering food waste.
People's governments at the county level or above and their relevant departments shall continue to organize and carry out publicity and education on countering food waste, and make countering food waste an important part of the National Food Security Publicity Week.
Article 21: The administrative departments for education shall guide and urge schools to strengthen education and management on countering food waste.
Schools shall carry out education on national conditions in accordance with provisions, including strict economy and opposition to waste in the content of education and teaching, and carrying out special educational activities on countering food waste through methods such as learning and practice, and experiencing labor, to cultivate students' habits of being diligent and thrifty and cherishing food.
Schools shall establish oversight and inspection mechanisms for the prevention of food waste, and formulate and implement corresponding reward and punishment measures.
Article 22: News media shall carry out public interest publicity on laws and regulations on countering food waste, as well as related standards and knowledge, reporting on advanced models, exposing wasteful phenomena, guiding the public to establish a correct concept of food consumption, and conducting public opinion oversight of food waste. Publicity and reporting on countering food waste shall be truthful and fair.
It is prohibited to produce, publish, or disseminate programs or audio or video information that promote excessive eating, overeating, or other food waste.
Where online A/V service providers discover that users have violated the provisions of the preceding paragraph, they shall immediately stop transmitting the relevant information; and where the circumstances are serious, the provision of information services shall be stopped.
Article 23: The civil affairs and market supervision and management departments of local people's governments at the county level or above are to establish mechanisms for matching donation needs, guiding food producers and traders to donate food to relevant social organizations, welfare institutions, relief organizations, and other organizations or individuals on the premise of ensuring food safety. Relevant organizations receive and distribute food in a timely manner as needed.
The State encourages social forces to participate in food donation activities. Network information service providers can build platforms to provide services such as food donations.
24th units, families and individuals that produce kitchen waste shall fulfill the obligation to reduce the source of kitchen waste in accordance with law.
Article 25: The State organizes and carries out monitoring of nutritional status and popularization of nutrition knowledge, guiding citizens to form scientific eating habits, and reducing the risk of diseases caused by unhealthy diets.
Article 26: People's governments at the county level or above shall employ measures to support activities such as scientific research and technological development to prevent food waste.
Government procurement of relevant goods and services shall be conducive to the prevention of food waste.
The state implements tax policies that are conducive to the prevention of food waste.
Article 27: Where any unit or individual discovers that food producers or traders have food waste, they have the right to report it to the relevant departments and organs. Departments and organs receiving reports shall promptly handle them in accordance with law.
Article 28: Where the provisions of this Law are violated by food and beverage service operators failing to proactively give consumers reminders and reminders to prevent food waste, the department for market regulation of local people's governments at the county level or above, or the departments designated by local people's governments at the county level or above, are to order corrections and give warnings.
Where the provisions of this Law are violated by food and beverage service operators inducing or misleading consumers to order food in excess of the amount and causing obvious waste, the market regulation department of the local people's government at the county level or above or the department designated by the local people's government at the county level or above is to order corrections and give a warning; and where corrections are refused, a fine of between 1,000 and 10,000 RMB is to be given.
Where the provisions of this Law are violated by food producers or traders causing serious food waste in the course of food production and operation, the market regulation department of the local people's government at the county level or above or the department designated by the local people's government at the county level or above is to order corrections, and where corrections are refused, a fine of between 5,000 and 50,000 RMB is to be given.
Article 29: Where the provisions of this Law are violated by units with cafeterias failing to formulate or implement measures to prevent food waste, the departments designated by the local people's governments at the county level or above are to order corrections and give warnings.
Article 30: Where the provisions of this Law are violated by radio stations, television stations, or online audio-visual service providers producing, publishing, or transmitting programs or audio-visual information that promote excessive eating, overeating, or other wasteful food, the radio, television, internet information, and other departments are to order corrections and give warnings in accordance with their respective duties; where corrections are refused or the circumstances are serious, a fine of between 10,000 and 100,000 RMB is to be given, and an order may be made to suspend operations or suspend operations for rectification, and the directly responsible managers and other directly responsible personnel are to be pursued for legal responsibility in accordance with law.
Article 31: Provinces, autonomous regions, directly governed municipalities, districted cities, and autonomous prefectures are to draft specific measures for countering food waste in their respective localities on the basis of specific circumstances and actual needs.
Article 32: This Law takes effect on the date of promulgation.
Source: CCTV News WeChat public account