[4] Everyone knows betel nut causes cancer, but legal regulation progresses slowly.

[4] Compiled from: Red Star News
 
Case review
Recently, the topic "36-year-old singer dies of oral cancer after chewing areca nut for 6 years" has sparked heated discussion, with renewed calls in public opinion to ban the sale of areca nuts. On September 20, regarding the matter of "Yiwu, Zhejiang requiring merchants to remove areca nuts from shelves," a relevant person from the Food Supervision Department of Yiwu Market Supervision Administration responded: "We have not received any directive to remove areca nuts citywide; rather, areca nuts should be sold as 'areca nut products' and not as food. Additionally, they must be sold in separate areas and cannot be mixed with food."

 

As a Class 1 carcinogen, the "food" status of areca nut has long been controversial. In places like Hunan, the areca nut industry has reached nearly 100 billion yuan in scale, and areca nut products, as "specialty foods," have become relatively widespread, posing significant health risks. Although the promotion and sale of areca nuts and their products through radio, television, and online audiovisual programs have been banned, the sale of areca nut products has remained largely unaffected.
 
[1] In fact, as early as two years ago, the latest revised "Food Production License Classification Catalog" by the State Administration for Market Regulation had already removed the category of "edible betel nut," and betel nut is no longer managed as food, nor can a "Food Production License" be issued. Since then, there has been no basis for the production licensing and supervision of betel nut as food.
 
[2] Most of the main betel nut products sold on the market are produced by Hunan enterprises. Since 2021, the Hunan Provincial Market Supervision and Administration Bureau has stopped processing food production licenses and extensions for all betel nut enterprises in the province. In other words, if there is no food production license, or the food production license has expired, then betel nut produced after this point no longer has food attributes.

 

[5] Food Safety Law
Article 35
[3] The state implements a licensing system for food production and operation. Those engaged in food production, food sales, and catering services must obtain licenses in accordance with the law. However, the sale of edible agricultural products and the sale of only pre-packaged food do not require a license. Those selling only pre-packaged food must report to the food safety supervision and administration department of the local people's government at or above the county level for filing.
 
[4] The food safety supervision and administration department of the local people's government at or above the county level shall, in accordance with the provisions of the "Administrative Licensing Law of the People's Republic of China," review the relevant materials submitted by the applicant as required by items 1 to 4 of paragraph 1 of Article 33 of this law, and when necessary, conduct on-site inspections of the applicant's production and operation premises; for those meeting the specified conditions, a license shall be granted; for those not meeting the conditions, the license shall be denied with a written explanation of the reasons.

 
 

 
[1] The author's perspective
[5] From the above legal provisions, it is clear that China implements a licensing system for food production and operation, which is also a key issue in this case. Since betel nut has been removed from the food category, betel nut producers cannot obtain the corresponding food production license (however, the sale of edible agricultural products does not require a license), so there is no legal basis for the production and supervision of betel nut as food. In fact, the main purpose of this is to limit the production and sale of betel nut, thereby reducing people's consumption. This is a good thing, but now the market has created a "betel nut product" category. Although what is not explicitly prohibited by law is permissible, it inevitably feels like there are policies from above and countermeasures from below. Some betel nut producers have also proposed including betel nut in the "medicine and food homology" catalog, but anyone with clear eyes can see that it's just a change in form rather than substance. Therefore, for this phenomenon, the state also needs to quickly come up with countermeasures to regulate it, otherwise more market chaos will occur.
 
[6] Some argue that since betel nut is harmful with no benefits, why not directly legislate to ban it? In reality, every law and regulation must be combined with actual circumstances and repeatedly studied by all parties before finally forming legal rules. Moreover, restricting betel nut requires a gradual approach, as there are countless related enterprises and economic chains behind it. If a one-size-fits-all approach is taken immediately, it may not only fail to achieve the goal but could also trigger other problems. In fact, the best way to protect one's health is to start from the individual; national policies are only auxiliary means. Although progress is relatively slow, we are all moving forward together, hoping for the country to get better and better.