Recyclable safety seal to curb tampering and secure takeouts

The Shanghai Market Supervision Administration on Tuesday launched a recyclable food safety seal while introducing new food safety regulation.

Many urban residents lead fast-paced lives and prefer to order takeouts instead of cooking at home. However, there are increasing concerns about how safe the takeouts are. Supervision of the entire chain from cooking to delivery of takeouts is necessary to guarantee food safety and the consumers' health.

Media outlets reported that the Shanghai Market Supervision Administration has now introduced a regulation prescribing food safety seals in takeouts. The Shanghai Consumer Council, too, has issued a document encouraging local catering enterprises to use food safety seals on takeouts.

The new regulation specifies the responsibilities of the catering service provider, delivery personnel and consumers, so that one knows whom to blame should a dispute arise. Food safety seals on takeouts can help check secondary pollution during the delivery process.

The seal that the Shanghai authorities are now advancing is actually version 3.0. The Shanghai Market Supervision Administration began promoting disposable food safety seals in takeouts as early as August 2019 and more than 40 million such seals have reached customers through takeouts.

In May, Xuhui district of Shanghai launched version 2.0 of the food safety seal, which incorporated order placement information into the seal.

The recyclable intelligent electronic food safety seal launched on Tuesday combines technologies of mobile internet and the internet of things. The seal contains digital information such as time and place where the takeout was sealed so that any tampering with the package while in transit can be detected. The high-tech food safety seal can not only check pollution and guarantee takeout safety, but is also more environmentally friendly.

The new food safety seal in Shanghai shows how local supervision authorities are extending their responsibilities to food delivery. Thanks to the application of new technology, food safety and the consumers' health can now be better guaranteed and in an eco-friendly way.