CCTV News: According to the website of the State Administration for Market Regulation, the State Administration for Market Regulation recently issued the "Regulations on Supervision and Management of Main Responsibilities of Concentrated Dining Units to Implement Food Safety" (hereinafter referred to as the "Regulations"), which will come into effect on April 15, 2025.

Food safety of concentrated dining units such as schools, childcare institutions, nursing homes, hospitals, and government canteens is the top priority of food safety in catering services. In order to urge centralized dining units, unit canteens, contracted business enterprises, and catering units to implement the main responsibility for food safety, improve the food safety responsibility system, improve the risk prevention and control capabilities, and safeguard the food safety of the people, the State Administration for Market Regulation will separate and independent laws on the implementation of the main responsibility for food safety in centralized dining units and formulate and issue the "Regulations".

The "Regulations" have a total of 27 articles, which stipulate the centralized dining units, unit canteens, contracted business enterprises, and catering units in terms of responsibility allocation, risk prevention and control mechanisms, food safety management personnel allocation and employment requirements, and legal responsibilities. The main contents are as follows:

First, strengthen the food safety management responsibilities of centralized dining units. It is stipulated that centralized dining units should strengthen the management of the business behaviors of unit canteens, contract management enterprises, and catering units in accordance with the law; when determining contract management enterprises and catering units, they must choose enterprises that obtain food business licenses; if ordering meals from catering units, they must check the food ordered as required. It is clear that if the centralized dining unit fails to fulfill its food safety management responsibilities, it shall be punished in accordance with the law.

The second is to clarify the main responsibility for food safety of the unit’s canteen, contract management enterprise, and catering units. It is stipulated that the unit canteens, contract management enterprises, and catering units should establish and improve food safety management systems, implement the food safety responsibility system, and equip food safety directors and food safety officers in accordance with the law; at the same time, considering the particularity of schools and kindergartens, if schools and kindergartens meet certain conditions are entrusted to contract management, schools and kindergartens should also be equipped with food safety directors. The regulations stipulate that unit canteens, contract management enterprises, and catering units must strictly implement the "daily control, weekly inspection, and monthly dispatch" work system. It is clear that schools and kindergartens violate the requirements of the "Regulations", they should be dealt with more severely.

The third is to improve the working mechanism for all relevant entities to coordinate the implementation of food safety responsibilities. The regulations require that centralized dining units should sign contracts with contract management enterprises and catering units in accordance with the law, clarify the obligations of both parties in food safety, establish a food safety consultation mechanism, regularly communicate, jointly investigate and eliminate safety hazards, and prevent and control food safety risks; stipulate that if there is a potential risk of food safety accidents, all relevant entities should immediately stop catering service activities and report in accordance with the regulations.