A bowl of chicken soup fined 30,000 yuan—how to regulate the principle of medicine and food sharing the same origin?

Compiled from: Daily Economic News, China News Service
 
Case review
Recently, the Ningbo branch of Zhejiang Ciyue Health Management Co., Ltd. was fined 30,000 yuan for illegally adding drugs in its production and operation. It was found that the Ningbo branch of Zhejiang Ciyue Health Management Co., Ltd. was established on January 17, 2017, and is a postpartum care center.

 
 

On the morning of May 25, 2022, law enforcement personnel from the Haishu District Market Supervision Administration in Ningbo conducted an on-site inspection of the premises involved. During the inspection, they found that the kitchen stored one jar each of Chinese medicinal herbs including Motherwort, Salt Eucommia, Ophiopogon, and Codonopsis. On the service menu provided by the party, there was a 'Qi and Blood Nourishing Soup,' which was made by the party adding Codonopsis and dried tangerine peel to chicken soup for postpartum women. Upon inquiry, Codonopsis is not classified as a substance that is both a food and a medicinal herb.
 
Regarding this matter, some netizens believe that since they put codonopsis in their own chicken soup, the postpartum care center should not be punished. Other netizens believe that medicines should not be used arbitrarily, and the postpartum care center should be punished.

 
 

 
《 [1] The People's Republic of China Food Safety Law
Article 38
Medicines shall not be added to foods for production and business operations, but substances that are traditionally both food and Chinese medicinal materials may be added. The list of substances that are traditionally both food and Chinese medicinal materials shall be formulated and published by the health administrative department of the State Council in conjunction with the food safety supervision and administration department of the State Council.
 
Article 123
Violating the provisions of this Law, if any of the following circumstances occur and do not constitute a crime, the food safety supervision and administration department of the people's government at or above the county level shall confiscate unlawful gains and illegally produced or operated food, and may confiscate tools, equipment, raw materials, and other items used for illegal production or operation; if the value of the illegally produced or operated food is less than 10,000 yuan, a fine of not less than 100,000 yuan and not more than 150,000 yuan shall be imposed; if the value is 10,000 yuan or more, a fine of not less than fifteen times and not more than thirty times the value shall be imposed; if the circumstances are serious, the license shall be revoked, and the public security authorities may detain the directly responsible managers and other directly responsible personnel for not less than five days and not more than fifteen days.
……
(6) Foods to which drugs are added during production and operation.
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[1] The author's perspective
In fact, at present, Codonopsis is still at the pilot stage of production and operation according to the tradition of being both food and medicinal material and has not yet been included in the list of medicinal-food homology foods announced by the State Council for food safety supervision and administration. Although the Food Safety Law clearly states that 'medicines shall not be added to foods during production and operation,' including not adding Chinese medicine at will, on the one hand, it takes into account the dietary tradition of Chinese people, and on the other hand, in order to promote and protect traditional Chinese medicine, it also specifies that 'materials that are traditionally both food and medicinal can be added to foods.'
 
To protect the health of the people, the list of foods that are both medicinal and edible is strictly controlled by the relevant departments of the State Council.
Not only are there postpartum care centers, but many restaurants also promote medicinal cuisine to attract customers. In addition, there are advertisements for health supplements, and consumers often find it difficult to distinguish which are compliant and which are illegal. Therefore, relevant authorities should establish and improve the legal and regulatory system and further strengthen supervision of foods that are both medicine and food, so that consumers can buy with confidence and use them with peace of mind.