When purchasing food on e-commerce platforms, many consumers find that some stores have a wide variety of product introductions, but there is nowhere to find complete information on food ingredient lists. Or deliberately conceal the ingredient list information on the food package, or stick the ingredient list on the inside of the express foam box, or only provide it or not provide it when the buyer asks for it on his own initiative... Such concealment is like "opening the blind box", which makes consumers feel uneasy.
The ingredient and ingredient list on food packaging is an important basis for consumers to understand the nutritional information of food and make purchasing decisions, and it is also required by laws and regulations to be labeled. According to the Food Safety Law, pre packaged food packaging should have labels indicating ingredients or ingredient lists. Both online and offline sales of food must comply with the above regulations.
Some online food ingredient lists are "hidden", either by concealing unfavorable information such as excessive food additives and imbalanced nutritional content, or by not willing to pay the cost to inspect and calibrate the ingredients of the food. This has brought new risk points to food safety, and the harm should not be underestimated.
The ingredient list, production date, shelf life, and other information may seem insignificant, but they have a significant impact on purchase intention. Once consumers discover inaccurate information, it often leads to disputes. The "Characteristics and Trends of Online Shopping Contract Dispute Cases" released by the Supreme People's Court shows that from January 2017 to June 2020, food related disputes accounted for 45.65% of online shopping contract dispute cases, and 21.65% of disputes were due to the lack of necessary labeling for goods. Accelerate the improvement of regulatory measures for new business formats and models, focus on protecting consumers' rights to information, fair trade, and choice, in order to create a more reassuring and comfortable consumption environment for consumers.
With the rise of new marketing methods such as short videos and live streaming, some consumers are attracted by discounts or other gimmicks, making it easy for them to "look less" at information such as ingredient lists. However, market regulatory authorities should "look more". No matter how the sales channels change, food safety supervision cannot be relaxed. We should increase the intensity of random inspections, promptly investigate and punish violations, increase the cost of illegal activities for businesses, and regulate their behavior. The responsibility for supervision lies not only with law enforcement agencies, but also with sales platforms. The food sold in e-commerce, WeChat Moments, and short video sharing is difficult to access through regular food safety inspections. Relevant platforms need to establish effective supervision and traceability mechanisms to ensure that the products sold have traceable sources and destinations. If regulation is in place, compliant operation will become the conscious choice of most businesses.
