Oriental Selection sells rotten peaches; food safety must be strictly enforced.
[4] Compiled from: Red Star News
Case review
[2] Recently, New Oriental's livestream e-commerce platform "Oriental Selection" has gained significant popularity due to its hosts' bilingual product presentations, frequently trending on hot search lists. According to insiders, since the "Oriental Selection" livestream room went viral, the business contact WeChat account "has been flooded with hundreds of pending friend requests."
[3] However, a Beijing resident surnamed Xiao (pseudonym) reported to Red Star News that on June 9, he ordered a 4.5-5 jin (approximately 2.25-2.5 kg) package of Shaanxi peaches from the "Oriental Selection" livestream room. Upon receiving the delivery, Xiao discovered that about a quarter of the peaches were moldy and rotten.
[4] After reporting the issue to customer service, the merchant quickly issued a full refund to Xiao. However, Xiao still had doubts: given the severity of the peach damage, how could they be considered "selected"?
[5] Food Safety Law
Article 148
If a consumer suffers damage due to food that does not meet food safety standards, they may claim compensation for losses from the operator or the producer. The producer or operator that receives the consumer's compensation claim shall implement the first-responsibility system, pay compensation first, and shall not shirk responsibility. If the producer is liable, the operator has the right to recover from the producer after compensation; if the operator is liable, the producer has the right to recover from the operator after compensation. If food that does not meet food safety standards is produced, or if food that is known not to meet food safety standards is operated, the consumer may, in addition to claiming compensation for losses, also demand from the producer or operator a punitive payment of ten times the price or three times the losses; if the additional compensation is less than one thousand yuan, it shall be one thousand yuan. However, this does not apply if the food's label or instructions contain defects that do not affect food safety and do not mislead consumers.
Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Trial of Civil Disputes over Food Safety (I)
Article 2
If food sold by an e-commerce platform operator in the form of self-operated business, or food sold through actual self-operated business even if not marked as such, does not meet food safety standards, and the consumer claims that the e-commerce platform operator shall bear compensation liability as a food operator in accordance with Article 148 of the Food Safety Law, the people's court shall support such claim.
If an e-commerce platform operator is not actually engaged in self-operated business, but its markings or other indications are sufficient to mislead consumers into believing that the food is self-operated by the e-commerce platform operator, and the consumer claims that the e-commerce platform operator shall bear compensation liability as a food operator in accordance with Article 148 of the Food Safety Law, the people's court shall support such claim.
[1] The author's perspective
For a long time, fresh fruit and raw food products, due to their special nature, have not been covered by the seven-day no-reason return and exchange policy. However, the lack of legal support should not harm consumers' interests. The above-mentioned "Interpretation (I)" issued by the Supreme People's Court in 2020 not only binds food producers and platform operators together but also proposes that punitive damages do not require personal injury as a prerequisite. That is, according to Article 148 of the Food Safety Law, if food does not meet food safety standards, consumers can claim punitive damages from the producer or operator. If the producer or operator argues on the grounds of "no personal injury caused to the consumer," the people's court will not support it.
Thus, it can be seen that China's legislation is being updated with the times. The overnight success of the Oriental Selection live-streaming platform, backed by New Oriental as a strong support and riding the wave of the live-streaming e-commerce era, has caused its stock price to rise accordingly. However, there are many precedents of live-streaming e-commerce failures. It is hoped that Oriental Selection can truly achieve "selection," maintain quality control, and not let down consumers' affection.
