Repeated use of red oil broth, unscrupulous merchants finally reap what they sow.

Compiled from The Paper
 
Case review
The Hanyuan County Court in Sichuan recently publicly sentenced a case involving the production and sale of toxic and harmful food, along with a criminal incidental civil public interest litigation. In this case, Li Mou-tao, the operator of a skewer restaurant, recovered oil from the hot pot bases consumed by customers to refine "old oil" for illegal profit, and was sentenced by the court to five years in prison and a fine of 230,000 yuan. Additionally, Li Mou-gui, Li Mou-lin, and Xu Mou-sha assisted Li Mou-tao in recovering the old oil, and the court sentenced the three to prison terms ranging from one year and four months to one year and two months, all with suspended sentences, and a total fine of 100,000 yuan; it also ruled that the four defendants are permanently prohibited from engaging in food production and operation management work, and from serving as food safety management personnel in food production and operation enterprises; the illegal gains of the four defendants were recovered and 25 bags of unlabeled hot pot base were confiscated; and the skewer restaurant was ordered to pay 1.586 million yuan in compensation.

 
 

The Hanyuan County Court found through trial that, starting from September 2016, the defendant Li Mou-tao, as a registered industrial and commercial operator, ran a skewer hot pot restaurant in Jiuxiang Town, Hanyuan County. Beginning in July 2020, Li Mou-tao poured the hot pot base leftover after customers had eaten into a stainless steel barrel to settle, then recovered the hot pot oil floating on the upper layer, and refined it into “old oil” by washing and boiling. During the refining of the “old oil,” he added some new oil to mix in. After cooling, he resealed the refined mixed “old oil” using a plastic sealing machine and transparent plastic bags, and sold it to customers for consumption, thereby illegally profiting.
 
In the process of recycling and refining “old oil,” the defendant Li Mougui assisted Li Mouao on multiple occasions in collecting discarded hot pot base oil, transporting the “old oil,” and repackaging it, and also purchased plastic bags used for packaging the “old oil”; the defendant Li Moulin assisted Li Mouao on multiple occasions in transporting the “old oil” and repackaging it; the defendant Xu Mousha helped Li Mouao purchase a plastic sealing machine and plastic bags used for packaging the “old oil” online and repackaged the “old oil” on multiple occasions.

 
 

 
Criminal Law
Article 144 [Crime of Producing and Selling Toxic and Harmful Food]
Whoever mixes toxic or harmful non-food raw materials into food produced or sold, or knowingly sells food mixed with such materials, shall be sentenced to up to five years in prison and fined; if it causes serious harm to human health or involves other serious circumstances, the sentence shall be five to ten years in prison and a fine; if it results in death or involves other particularly serious circumstances, the punishment shall be according to Article 141 of this law.
 
 
 
[5] Food Safety Law
Article 34
The following foods, food additives, and food-related products are prohibited from production and operation:
(1) Food produced using non-food raw materials, or food containing chemical substances other than food additives and other substances that may harm human health, or food produced using recycled food as raw materials;

 
 

 
[1] The author's perspective
In pursuit of economic gain, the operators of the skewer hot pot restaurant disregarded the lives and safety of diners and ignored laws and regulations by using recycled hot pot base oil to process and produce “old oil.” This not only infringed upon the health rights of an unspecified group of people but also harmed the public interest, making the nature of the offense extremely egregious. In addition to criminal liability, they must also bear corresponding civil compensation. Furthermore, these four individuals are permanently banned from engaging in food production, business management, and related work. It is evident that the penalties are very severe.
 
People often say, “Food is the first necessity of the people, and safety is the first priority of food.” Yet in recent years, various fast-food delivery services and trendy restaurants have been exposed for food safety issues. As people’s lives have become more affluent, their demand for food has risen from merely filling their stomachs to savoring delicious flavors. Dining out at favored restaurants—whether in small groups or with family and friends—has become a common practice, reflecting trust in food safety and hygiene. When greed for profit takes over and wrongdoing is eventually exposed, offenders not only face legal sanctions but also damage the local dining reputation and market environment.