The State Administration for Market Regulation has drafted the "Food Safety Law of the People's Republic of China (Draft Amendments for Public Comment)" and is now seeking public feedback. The proposed revisions focus on five main areas.
The first area is strengthening smart regulation. This includes promoting the application of "Internet plus artificial intelligence" in regulatory oversight, requiring food production and processing enterprises to install monitoring equipment at key risk points in their operations and to connect real-time surveillance video feeds to the information systems of market regulatory departments at or above the county level, and granting regulators the authority to conduct off-site inspections through Internet of Things monitoring and video patrols.
The second area is reinforcing primary responsibility. Food production and processing enterprises and online food trading platform operators would be required to designate food safety directors and food safety officers in accordance with regulations, clearly define their job responsibilities, and strengthen training and assessment. Food production enterprises would be required to establish a food production process control record system. A real-name mailing, contents inspection, and X-ray security screening system would be established for postal and express delivery enterprises. Commissioned production practices would be standardized, with clear qualification requirements for both the commissioning party and the commissioned party.
The third area is tightening regulation of key sectors. A dedicated section on "school food safety" would be added, establishing a principal (or kindergarten head) accountability system and a meal accompaniment system for centralized dining at primary and secondary schools and kindergartens. A dedicated section on "online food operations" would also be added, implementing tiered filing management and clarifying the primary responsibilities of platforms, livestream room operators, and livestream marketing personnel. Cross-border e-commerce enterprises would be explicitly required to bear primary responsibility for the safety of cross-border e-commerce imported food, food additives, and food-related products.
The fourth area is optimizing food safety management systems. The scope of food safety risk monitoring would be expanded to include food additives and food-related products. Infant complementary foods would be brought under special food regulation and subject to filing management. Food labeling and commercial promotion would be standardized, with false or misleading claims strictly prohibited. Food inspection management would be tightened, and commissioned inspection practices would be regulated.
The fifth area is improving the legal liability system. Differentiated penalty ranges would be set according to the type of violation. The principle of "punishing the individual" would be strictly enforced, with penalties imposed on responsible persons who intentionally violate the law, commit serious offenses, or cause severe consequences through their violations. Penalty provisions corresponding to newly added obligations would be completed to increase the cost of violations. A food safety credit management system would be implemented, with cross-departmental punitive measures for dishonest conduct.
Next, the State Administration for Market Regulation will refine the draft amendments based on public feedback and push for the prompt revision and promulgation of the Food Safety Law of the People's Republic of China, providing solid legal safeguards for standardizing food production and processing activities, preventing and resolving risks, and strengthening regulatory enforcement.