Chapter I General Provisions

Article 1 This Law is enacted to ensure food hygiene, prevent food contamination and the harm caused by harmful factors to the human body, safeguard the health of the people, and enhance their physical fitness.

Article 2 The State implements a food hygiene supervision system.

Article 3 The health administrative department of the State Council is responsible for the supervision and administration of food hygiene nationwide.

Relevant departments of the State Council are responsible for food hygiene management within the scope of their respective duties.

Article 4 Any entity engaged in the production or operation of food within the territory of the People’s Republic of China must comply with this Law.

This Law applies to all food, food additives, food containers, packaging materials, and food-contact tools, equipment, detergents, and disinfectants; it also applies to food production and business premises, facilities, and the relevant environment.

Article 5: The State encourages and protects social supervision of food hygiene by social organizations and individuals.

Any person has the right to report and file complaints regarding violations of this Law.

Chapter II: Food Hygiene

Article 6: Food shall be non-toxic and harmless, meet the required nutritional standards, and possess appropriate sensory characteristics such as color, aroma, and taste.

Article 7: Main and supplementary foods intended exclusively for infants and young children must comply with the nutritional and hygiene standards established by the health administrative department of the State Council.

Article 8: The food production and operation process must meet the following hygiene requirements:

(1) Maintain a clean internal and external environment; take measures to eliminate flies, rats, cockroaches, and other harmful insects and their breeding conditions; and maintain the prescribed distance from toxic and hazardous areas;

(2) Food production and operation enterprises shall have facilities or premises for the handling, processing, packaging, and storage of food ingredients that are commensurate with the variety and quantity of products;

(3) There shall be appropriate facilities for disinfection, changing clothes, washing, natural lighting, artificial lighting, ventilation, anti-corrosion, dust prevention, fly control, rodent control, washing, wastewater discharge, and the storage of garbage and waste;

(4) The layout of equipment and production processes shall be reasonable to prevent cross-contamination between food awaiting processing and ready-to-eat food, as well as between raw materials and finished products; food shall not come into contact with toxic or unclean substances;

(5) Tableware, drinking utensils, and containers holding ready-to-eat food must be washed and disinfected before use; cooking utensils and equipment must be washed after use and kept clean;

(6) Containers, packaging, tools, equipment, and conditions used for the storage, transportation, and handling of food must be safe, non-toxic, and kept clean to prevent food contamination;

(7) Ready-to-eat food shall be packaged in small portions or using non-toxic, clean packaging materials;

(8) Food production and business personnel shall maintain good personal hygiene at all times; when producing or selling food, they must wash their hands and wear clean work clothes and hats; when selling ready-to-eat food, they must use serving utensils;

(9) Water used must comply with the national sanitary standards for urban and rural drinking water;

(10) Detergents and disinfectants used shall be safe and harmless to humans.

Specific provisions regarding hygiene requirements for food vendors and food operators at urban and rural markets during food production and operation shall be formulated by the Standing Committees of the People’s Congresses of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government in accordance with this Law.

Article 9. The production and operation of the following foods are prohibited:

(1) Foods that are spoiled, rancid, moldy, infested with insects, filthy, contaminated with foreign objects, or otherwise exhibit abnormal sensory characteristics that may be harmful to human health;

(2) Foods containing toxic or harmful substances, or contaminated by toxic or harmful substances, that may be harmful to human health;

(3) Food containing pathogenic parasites or microorganisms, or with microbial toxin levels exceeding national standards;

(4) Meat and meat products that have not undergone veterinary health inspection or have failed such inspection;

(5) Poultry, livestock, wild animals, aquatic animals, and their products that have died from disease, poisoning, or unknown causes;

(6) Products whose containers or packaging are filthy, severely damaged, or contaminated due to unclean transport vehicles;

(7) Products that have been adulterated, mixed with foreign substances, or counterfeited, thereby affecting their nutritional value or hygiene;

(8) Products processed using non-food raw materials, containing non-food chemical substances, or presented as food when they are not;

(9) Products that have exceeded their shelf life;

(10) Products specifically prohibited from sale by the State Council’s health administrative department or the people’s governments of provinces, autonomous regions, or municipalities directly under the Central Government for special needs such as disease prevention;

(11) Products containing additives not approved for use by the State Council’s health administrative department, or products with pesticide residues exceeding the national permissible limits;

(12) Other products that do not meet food hygiene standards and sanitary requirements.

Chapter III: Hygiene of Food Additives

Article 11: The production, operation, and use of food additives must comply with the provisions of the hygiene standards for the use of food additives and the administrative measures for hygiene. Food additives that do not meet these hygiene standards and administrative measures shall not be sold or used.

Chapter IV: Hygiene of Food Containers, Packaging Materials, and Food-Grade Tools and Equipment

Article 12: Food containers, packaging materials, and food-grade tools and equipment must comply with the provisions of hygiene standards and hygiene management measures.

Article 13: The production of food containers, packaging materials, and food-grade tools and equipment must use raw materials that meet hygiene requirements. Products shall be easy to clean and disinfect.

Chapter V: Formulation of Food Hygiene Standards and Administrative Measures

Article 14: National hygiene standards, administrative measures, and inspection procedures for food, food additives, food containers and packaging materials, food-contact tools and equipment, detergents and disinfectants used to clean food and food-contact tools and equipment, as well as permissible levels of contaminants and radioactive substances in food, shall be formulated or approved and promulgated by the health administrative department of the State Council.

Article 15: For foods for which no national hygiene standards have been established, the people’s governments of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government may formulate local hygiene standards, which shall be reported to the health administrative department of the State Council and the administrative department of standardization of the State Council for the record.

Article 16: Indicators of hygienic significance in national product quality standards for food additives must be reviewed and approved by the health administrative department of the State Council.

The safety assessment of agricultural chemicals such as pesticides and chemical fertilizers must be reviewed and approved by the health administrative department of the State Council.

The veterinary health inspection procedures for the slaughter of livestock and poultry shall be formulated by the relevant administrative departments of the State Council in conjunction with the health administrative department of the State Council.

Chapter VI: Food Hygiene Management

Article 17: The food production and operation management departments of people’s governments at all levels shall strengthen food hygiene management and conduct inspections on the implementation of this Law.

People’s governments at all levels shall encourage and support improvements in food processing techniques to promote higher food hygiene standards.

Article 18. Food production and operation enterprises shall improve their internal food hygiene management systems, appoint full-time or part-time food hygiene management personnel, and strengthen the inspection of the food they produce and operate.

Article 19. The site selection and design of new, expanded, or renovated projects for food production and operation enterprises shall comply with hygiene requirements; the design review and project acceptance must involve the participation of health administrative departments.

Article 20. For new varieties of food and food additives produced using new resources, production and operation enterprises must submit the materials required for the health and nutritional evaluation of such products prior to commencing production. For new varieties of food containers, packaging materials, and food-grade tools and equipment produced using new raw materials, production and operation enterprises must submit the materials required for the health evaluation of such products prior to commencing production. Prior to commencing production, samples of the aforementioned new varieties must also be provided, and approval must be sought in accordance with the prescribed food hygiene standard approval procedures.

Article 21. For pre-packaged foods and food additives, the packaging labels or product instructions must clearly indicate, in accordance with regulations and specific to each product, the product name, place of origin, manufacturer’s name, production date, batch number or code, specifications, formula or main ingredients, shelf life, and methods of consumption or use. Product instructions for foods and food additives must not contain exaggerated or false promotional claims.

Food packaging labels must be clear and easily recognizable. Food sold in the domestic market must bear Chinese labeling.

Article 22: Food products claiming to have specific health benefits must have their products and product descriptions submitted to the State Council’s health administrative department for review and approval; the relevant health standards and management measures for production and operation shall be formulated by the State Council’s health administrative department.

Article 23. Foods claimed to have specific health benefits shall not be harmful to human health; the content of their product labels must be truthful, and the functions and ingredients of such products must be consistent with the labels and shall not be false.

Article 24. Producers of food, food additives, and containers, packaging materials, and other utensils exclusively used for food must ensure that their products pass inspections in accordance with health standards and management regulations before they may be released from the factory or sold.

Article 25. Food production and business operators shall, when purchasing food and its raw materials, request certificates of inspection or test reports in accordance with relevant national regulations; sellers shall ensure the provision thereof. The scope and types of certificates required shall be specified by the health administrative departments of the people’s governments of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government.

Article 26. Personnel engaged in food production and business operations must undergo annual health examinations; new and temporary personnel must undergo health examinations and obtain health certificates before commencing work.

Any person suffering from digestive tract infectious diseases such as dysentery, typhoid fever, or viral hepatitis (including carriers of pathogens), active pulmonary tuberculosis, suppurative or exudative skin diseases, or other diseases detrimental to food hygiene shall not be permitted to engage in work involving direct contact with ready-to-eat food.

Article 27. Food production and operation enterprises and food vendors must first obtain a health permit issued by the health administrative department before applying for registration with the administrative department for industry and commerce. No entity may engage in food production or operation activities without a health permit.

Food production and operation entities shall not forge, alter, or lend their health permits.

The administrative measures for the issuance of health permits shall be formulated by the health administrative departments of the people’s governments of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government.

Article 28: The organizers of all types of food markets shall be responsible for food hygiene management within the market, shall provide necessary public health facilities within the market, and shall maintain good environmental hygiene conditions.

Article 29: The industrial and commercial administrative departments shall be responsible for food hygiene management in urban and rural marketplaces, while the health administrative departments shall be responsible for food hygiene supervision and inspection.

The health supervision and inspection of the products listed in the preceding paragraph shall be conducted by the port-based health supervision and inspection agency for imported food. Importation shall be permitted only if the products pass inspection. Customs shall release the goods upon presentation of a certificate of inspection.

When declaring for inspection, the importing entity shall provide relevant data and inspection reports regarding pesticides, additives, fumigants, and other substances used in the exporting country (region).

The products listed in the preceding paragraph shall be inspected in accordance with national health standards. Where no national health standards exist, the importing entity must provide health assessment data issued by the health authorities or organizations of the exporting country (region), which shall be reviewed and inspected by the port-of-entry food health supervision and inspection agency and submitted to the health administrative department of the State Council for approval.

Article 31. Exported food shall be subject to health supervision and inspection by the national import and export commodity inspection authorities.

Customs shall release the goods based on certificates issued by the national import and export commodity inspection authorities.

Chapter VII: Food Hygiene Supervision

Article 32. The health administrative departments of local people’s governments at or above the county level shall exercise food hygiene supervision duties within their jurisdictions.

Food hygiene supervision agencies established by the administrative departments responsible for railways and transportation shall exercise the food hygiene supervision duties prescribed by the health administrative department of the State Council in conjunction with relevant departments of the State Council.

Article 33. The duties of food hygiene supervision are as follows:

(1) To conduct food hygiene monitoring, inspection, and provide technical guidance;

(2) Assisting in the training of food production and operation personnel and supervising their health examinations;

(3) Promoting food hygiene and nutrition knowledge, conducting food hygiene assessments, and publicizing food hygiene conditions;

(4) Conducting health reviews of the site selection and design for new, expanded, or renovated food production and operation facilities, and participating in project acceptance inspections;

(5) To investigate food poisoning and food contamination incidents and take control measures;

(6) To conduct routine supervision and inspection of violations of this Law;

(7) To investigate liability for violations of this Law and impose administrative penalties in accordance with the law;

(8) Be responsible for other food hygiene supervision matters.

Article 34. The health administrative departments of people’s governments at or above the county level shall appoint food hygiene supervisors. Food hygiene supervisors shall be qualified professionals and shall be issued certificates by the health administrative department at the same level.

Food hygiene supervisors in the railway and transportation sectors shall be issued certificates by their superior competent authorities.

Article 35. Food hygiene supervisors shall carry out the tasks assigned by the health administrative departments.

Food hygiene supervisors must enforce the law impartially, be dedicated to their duties, and shall not use their authority for personal gain.

When performing their duties, food hygiene supervisors may inquire about circumstances from food producers and operators, request necessary materials, enter production and business premises for inspection, and collect samples free of charge in accordance with regulations. Producers and operators shall not refuse or conceal such requests.

Food hygiene supervisors have a duty to keep confidential the technical materials provided by producers and operators.

Article 36. The health administrative departments of the State Council and the people’s governments of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government may, as needed, designate qualified entities as food hygiene testing units to conduct food hygiene testing and issue test reports.

Article 37. Where a food poisoning incident has occurred or there is evidence that a food poisoning incident may occur, the health administrative departments of local people’s governments at or above the county level may take the following temporary control measures against the food production and operation entity:

(1) Seal food and its raw materials that have caused food poisoning or may cause food poisoning;

(2) Seal contaminated food-handling tools and utensils, and order their cleaning and disinfection.

Upon inspection, food found to be contaminated shall be destroyed; food not found to be contaminated shall be released from seizure.

Article 38. Units where food poisoning occurs and units receiving patients for treatment shall, in addition to taking emergency rescue measures, promptly report the incident to the local health administrative department in accordance with relevant national regulations.

Upon receiving a report, the health administrative department of a local people’s government at or above the county level shall promptly investigate and handle the matter, and take control measures.

Chapter VIII: Legal Liability

Article 39: Any person who, in violation of the provisions of this Law, produces or operates food that fails to meet hygiene standards, thereby causing a food poisoning incident or other foodborne illness, shall be ordered to cease production or operation, destroy the food that caused the food poisoning or other foodborne illness, have any illegal gains confiscated, and be fined an amount equivalent to one to five times the illegal gains; if there are no illegal gains, a fine of not less than 1,000 yuan and not more than 50,000 yuan shall be imposed.

Any person who, in violation of the provisions of this Law, produces or operates food that fails to meet hygiene standards, thereby causing a serious food poisoning incident or other serious foodborne illness that poses a serious threat to human health, or who adds toxic or harmful non-food ingredients to food during production or operation, shall be held criminally liable in accordance with the law.

Where any of the acts listed in this Article are committed, the health permit shall be revoked.

Article 40: Any person who, in violation of the provisions of this Law, engages in food production or business operations without obtaining a health permit or by forging a health permit shall be shut down, have their illegal gains confiscated, and be fined an amount equivalent to one to five times the illegal gains; where there are no illegal gains, a fine of not less than 500 yuan but not more than 30,000 yuan shall be imposed. Any person who alters or lends a health permit shall have the health permit confiscated, the illegal gains confiscated, and shall be fined an amount equivalent to one to three times the illegal gains; where there are no illegal gains, a fine of not less than 500 yuan but not more than 10,000 yuan shall be imposed.

Article 41. Where, in violation of the provisions of this Law, the food production and operation process fails to meet hygiene requirements, the entity shall be ordered to rectify the violation, given a warning, and may be fined not more than 5,000 yuan; where the entity refuses to rectify the violation or there are other serious circumstances, the health permit shall be revoked.

Article 42. Where, in violation of the provisions of this Law, food that is prohibited from production or operation is produced or operated, the entity shall be ordered to cease production or operation, immediately announce the recall of food already sold and destroy such food, and the illegal gains shall be confiscated, along with a fine of not less than one times and not more than five times the amount of the illegal gains; where there are no illegal gains, a fine of not less than 1,000 yuan but not more than 50,000 yuan shall be imposed. Where the circumstances are serious, the health permit shall be revoked.

Article 43. Any person who, in violation of the provisions of this Law, produces or operates the production and operation of staple and supplementary foods exclusively for infants and young children that do not meet nutritional and hygiene standards shall be ordered to cease production and operation, immediately announce the recall of food already sold, and destroy such food; the illegal gains shall be confiscated, and a fine of not less than one times and not more than five times the amount of the illegal gains shall be imposed; where there are no illegal gains, a fine of not less than 1,000 yuan and not more than 50,000 yuan shall be imposed. In serious cases, the health permit shall be revoked.

Article 44. Any person who, in violation of the provisions of this Law, produces, operates, or uses food additives, food containers, packaging materials, food-grade tools and equipment, as well as detergents and disinfectants that do not meet the requirements of hygiene standards and hygiene management regulations, shall be ordered to cease production or use, have their illegal gains confiscated, and be fined an amount equivalent to one to three times the illegal gains; where there are no illegal gains, a fine of not more than 5,000 yuan shall be imposed.

Article 45. Any person who, in violation of the provisions of this Law, produces or operates food products claiming to have specific health benefits without the review and approval of the health administrative department of the State Council, or whose product instructions contain false information, shall be ordered to cease production or operation, have their illegal gains confiscated, and be fined an amount equivalent to one to five times the illegal gains; if there are no illegal gains, a fine of not less than 1,000 yuan but not more than 50,000 yuan shall be imposed. In serious cases, the health permit shall be revoked.

Article 46. Any person who, in violation of the provisions of this Law, fails to indicate or falsely indicates prescribed matters such as the production date or shelf life on the packaging labels or product instructions of prepackaged food or food additives, or who fails to indicate Chinese labeling as required, shall be ordered to rectify the violation and may be fined not less than 500 yuan but not more than 10,000 yuan.

Article 47. Any person engaged in food production or operation who, in violation of this Law, engages in such activities without obtaining a health certificate, or who fails to transfer, as required, personnel suffering from diseases that prohibit contact with ready-to-eat food, shall be ordered to rectify the violation and may be fined not more than 5,000 yuan.

Article 48. Any person who, in violation of the provisions of this Law, causes a food poisoning incident or other foodborne illness, or causes harm to others through other violations of this Law, shall bear civil liability for compensation in accordance with the law.

Article 49. Administrative penalties prescribed by this Law shall be decided by the health administrative departments of local people’s governments at or above the county level. Other organs exercising food hygiene supervision authority as prescribed by this Law shall make administrative penalty decisions within the scope of their prescribed duties in accordance with the provisions of this Law.

Article 50. If a party is dissatisfied with an administrative penalty decision, the party may, within fifteen days of receiving notice of the penalty, apply for administrative reconsideration to the superior authority of the agency that issued the penalty decision; alternatively, the party may, within fifteen days of receiving notice of the penalty, file a lawsuit directly with the people’s court.

The administrative reconsideration authority shall render a decision on the reconsideration within fifteen days from the date of receipt of the application for reconsideration. If a party is dissatisfied with the reconsideration decision, they may file a lawsuit with the people’s court within fifteen days from the date of receipt of the reconsideration decision.

If a party fails to apply for reconsideration or file a lawsuit with the people’s court within the prescribed time limit and fails to comply with the penalty decision, the authority that issued the penalty decision may apply to the people’s court for compulsory enforcement.

Article 51: Where a health administrative department violates the provisions of this Law by issuing a health permit to a producer or operator that does not meet the requirements, the directly responsible personnel shall be subject to administrative sanctions; where bribery is involved and a crime is constituted, criminal liability shall be pursued in accordance with the law.

Article 52: Where food hygiene supervision and management personnel abuse their authority, neglect their duties, or engage in malfeasance, thereby causing a major accident, and a crime is constituted, criminal liability shall be pursued in accordance with the law; if the act does not constitute a crime, they shall be subject to administrative sanctions in accordance with the law.

Article 53. Any person who uses violence or threats to obstruct food hygiene supervisors from performing their duties in accordance with the law shall be held criminally liable in accordance with the law; any person who refuses or obstructs food hygiene supervisors from performing their duties in accordance with the law without using violence or threats shall be punished by the public security organs in accordance with the provisions of the Regulations on Public Security Administration Punishments.

Chapter IX. Supplementary Provisions

Article 54. The following terms used in this Law shall have the following meanings:

Food: Refers to all finished products and raw materials intended for human consumption or drinking, as well as items traditionally considered to be both food and medicine; however, this does not include items intended for therapeutic purposes.

Food Additive: Refers to chemically synthesized or natural substances added to food to improve its quality, color, aroma, and taste, or for the purposes of preservation and processing.

Nutritional Fortifier: Refers to food additives that are natural or artificially synthesized and fall within the scope of natural nutrients, added to food to enhance its nutritional content.

Food Containers and Packaging Materials: Refers to products made of paper, bamboo, wood, metal, enamel, plastic, rubber, natural fibers, synthetic fibers, glass, etc., used for packaging or containing food, as well as coatings that come into contact with food.

Food Tools and Equipment: Refers to machinery, pipelines, conveyor belts, containers, utensils, tableware, etc., that come into contact with food during production and business operations.

Food production and operation: Refers to all activities related to food, including production (excluding crop cultivation and animal husbandry), collection, procurement, processing, storage, transportation, display, supply, and sale.

Food producers and operators: Refers to all entities or individuals engaged in food production and operation, including staff canteens and food vendors.

Article 55. Regulations governing the management of exported food shall be separately formulated by the State Department of Commodity Import and Export Inspection in conjunction with the State Council’s health administration department and relevant administrative departments.

Article 56. Sanitary management regulations for food exclusively for military use and self-supplied food shall be formulated by the Central Military Commission in accordance with this Law.

Article 57. This Law shall come into force on the date of its promulgation. The “Food Sanitation Law of the People’s Republic of China (Provisional)” is hereby repealed.