Big reversal! Pickled vegetable supplier fined and suspended, how can Master Kong instant noodles be spared?
[4] Compiled from: Red Star News
Remember not long ago, the "foot-stomped pickled cabbage" and "pit pickled cabbage" incidents stirred up a wave of "old jar pickled cabbage" controversy, with many instant noodle brands rushing to distance themselves overnight. But who would have thought that soon after, a major reversal would occur!
Case review
Hunan Jinrui Food Co., Ltd. was subjected to an administrative penalty by the Huarong County Market Supervision Administration on April 8, with the reason being: the company failed to implement production control requirements as stipulated and neglected its duty to inspect raw materials upon receipt; the company's legal representative, Yang Licai, and production manager, Sun Zhiyong, failed to fulfill their primary responsibilities for food safety.
The penalty stipulates: Jinrui Company is ordered to cease production, and may resume production activities only after passing rectification and acceptance inspections; the company's legal representative, Yang Licai, is fined 1 million RMB, and the production manager, Sun Zhiyong, is also fined 1 million RMB, with the fines to be turned over to the state treasury.
It is reported that Hunan Jinrui Food Co., Ltd. is one of the factories implicated in the "pit pickled cabbage" incident exposed by CCTV's 315 Gala, and it is also the supplier of pickled cabbage packets for Uni-President China Holdings Ltd.'s (00220.HK, hereinafter referred to as "Uni-President") "old jar pickled cabbage beef noodles," as acknowledged by Uni-President.
Uni-President previously issued a statement saying: "Our company's suppliers only involve Hunan Jinrui Food Co., Ltd. After an overnight investigation of Hunan Jinrui Food Co., Ltd., it was confirmed that all raw materials for Uni-President's pickled vegetable packets come from the company's own self-pickled and self-used production, and no 'pit pickled vegetables' reported by CCTV's '3.15' gala were used."
[1] Food Safety Law of the People's Republic of China
Article 46
Food production enterprises shall formulate and implement control requirements for the following matters to ensure that the food produced meets food safety standards:
(1) Raw material control such as raw material procurement, raw material acceptance, and ingredient input;
(2) Control of key production processes such as production procedures, equipment, storage, and packaging;
(3) Inspection control such as raw material inspection, semi-finished product inspection, and finished product ex-factory inspection;
(4) Transportation and delivery control.
Article 50
Food producers, when purchasing food ingredients, food additives, and food-related products, shall inspect the supplier's license and product conformity certificates; for food ingredients that cannot provide conformity certificates, they shall conduct inspections in accordance with food safety standards; they shall not purchase or use food ingredients, food additives, or food-related products that do not meet food safety standards.
Food production enterprises shall establish a record-keeping system for the inspection of purchased food ingredients, food additives, and food-related products, truthfully recording the name, specification, quantity, production date or batch number, shelf life, purchase date, and the supplier's name, address, contact information, etc., and retain relevant vouchers. The retention period for records and vouchers shall not be less than six months after the product's shelf life expires; if there is no clear shelf life, the retention period shall not be less than two years.
[1] The author's perspective
Ridiculously, after this year's CCTV 315 Gala exposed that multiple pickled vegetable production enterprises, including Chaqi Vegetable Industry and Jinrui Food, had engaged in behaviors such as purchasing "pit pickled vegetables" and having poor production environments that seriously affect food safety, Uni-President quickly issued a statement on Weibo on March 16, saying, "From today, we solemnly invite 1,000 media friends, consumers, and clients to visit our pickled vegetable processing plant. Those willing to learn the truth are welcome to sign up." Although Uni-President's instant noodles were also affected to some extent at the time, causing sluggish sales, this statement barely helped it weather the food safety storm.
Thus, it can be seen that Uni-President, as a national food brand, still takes this matter very seriously. Therefore, as a supplier of Uni-President's pickled vegetables, it should also keep laws and regulations in mind, especially since food is the paramount necessity of the people, and what goes into the mouth should be given more attention. For businesses and manufacturers, this attention should be placed on daily checks, not on post-event public relations. As long as problems exist, even if they can be covered up temporarily, it is difficult to hide them forever, and evasion is not a solution. To be responsible to consumers and to protect the corporate brand, principle errors must not be made; once a mistake occurs, it must be actively corrected, allowing consumers to see the attitude and methods of resolution. This is the long-term path for enterprise development.
