China's top market regulator has issued a stern warning to the e-commerce and food delivery industries. Seven of the country's most powerful digital platforms have been sanctioned with fines. joint fine of 3.597 billion yuan for allowing the operation of unlicensed establishments and for repeatedly violating food safety regulations.
The decision comes amid increasing pressure from Chinese authorities on the digital ecosystem, where the boom in online orders has created an environment that is difficult to monitor. Official investigations have detected the presence of "ghost stores" of restorationRestaurants and bakeries that operated without the necessary credentials but continued to function normally on the apps.
Which platforms have been sanctioned and how much will they have to pay?
The State Administration for Market Regulation, the country's main trade watchdog, has confirmed that the sanctions affect Pinduoduo (PDD), Meituan, JD.com, Ele.me, Douyin (ByteDance), Taobao and TmallThese are key companies within e-commerce and home delivery services, both in the general retail sector and in the prepared food sector.
The official statement puts the figure at 3.597 million yuan (about $524 million, around €450 million) the total amount of administrative fines imposed directly on the platforms for their role in cases of irregular shops and for violating China's Food Safety Law and e-commerce regulations.
In addition to the main penalty imposed on the companies, the authorities have punished the legal representatives and food safety officers of these seven firms. Collectively, these executives and compliance officers face additional fines that, according to information released by official Chinese media, total 19.687 billion yuan, a figure that underscores the regulator's intention to pursue personal accountability.
The file also cites Ele.meThe delivery platform, which has now been integrated under the Taobao Flash Sale brand, stands out as one of the most striking examples of the lack of internal controls, reinforcing the idea that the problem is not limited to a single operator, but affects the entire sector.
The problem of "ghost stores" and food safety failures
At the heart of the case is the figure of the so-called “restaurants” or “ghost shops”Virtual stores that offer products through applications but, in practice, do not have the required licenses or a physical establishment that meets the health requirements demanded by law.
The State Market Regulation Administration has indicated that the platforms under investigation were not carrying out a rigorous verification of licenses of the food vendors who operated their delivery services. In many cases, the companies simply accepted the documentation provided by the vendors without verifying its authenticity or validity, which is contrary to their legal obligations.
According to official findings, this lack of control allowed numerous unauthorized establishments to remain active and They will complete food delivery orders.exposing consumers to health risks and creating unfair competition against businesses that do comply with the regulations.
The regulator has also detected agreements between these platforms and order transfer servicesThese intermediaries redistribute orders among different restaurants or kitchens and sometimes serve to conceal the true origin of the products. Authorities indicate that the companies knew, or at least were expected to know, that these practices could infringe upon the legitimate rights and interests of consumers.
This set of infractions is considered especially serious in light of the 2015 amendment to the Food Safety Act China, designed precisely to combat the proliferation of unlicensed businesses and strengthen the responsibilities of digital platforms in supervising their sellers.
Corrective measures: suspension of new hires and changes in internal management
Along with the financial penalties, the regulatory body has ordered the sanctioned platforms to implement a series of mandatory corrective measuresOne of the most striking measures is the temporary suspension of the incorporation of new pastry shops into their home delivery services, with periods ranging from three to nine months, depending on the degree of non-compliance detected in each case.
During the investigations, the State Market Regulation Administration immediately instructed the companies to initiate internal processes to cleaning up your listsAccording to the regulator, all platforms have already removed the unapproved "ghost stores" and have ceased their collaboration with order transfer platforms linked to these cases.
Companies will need to strengthen their document verification systems, improve their vendor audit protocols, and establish mechanisms for continuous monitoring of licenses and permitsso that any irregularity can be detected and corrected more quickly.
These demands, which initially apply only to the Chinese market, set a precedent for how regulators can require major digital players to play a much more active role in the protection of public health and consumer rightseven when the service is provided through third parties.
The case also highlights the need to develop technological tools capable of reliably managing the enormous amount of data and sellers concentrated on delivery platforms, something that is equally concerning to the European and Spanish authorities in the context of the new digital regulation.
A wake-up call for global e-commerce and its impact on Europe
The Chinese regulatory offensive comes at a time when e-commerce and home delivery have become key components of the digital economy worldwide. In the Asian giant, these platforms are already a basic infrastructure for daily consumption, but the complexity and extent of their supply chains make comprehensive monitoring especially difficult.
For Europe, and in particular for countries like SpainIn China, where the use of food delivery apps and marketplaces has skyrocketed in recent years, this action by the Chinese regulator serves as a reference point for how far authorities can go when serious failures are detected in sensitive matters such as food safety.
At the European level, standards such as Regulation (EU) 2017 / 625 Regarding official controls, EU legislation on food hygiene and safety and, more recently, the Digital Services Regulation (DSA), already point towards a greater demand for responsibility from platforms that intermediate in the sale of products, including food products.
For Spanish and European businesses that sell through global marketplaces or manage their own delivery apps, this case reinforces the importance of having robust license verification proceduresTraceability systems and periodic controls that allow compliance with regulations to be demonstrated in the event of inspections.
Although the regulatory situations in the EU and China are different, the message is similar: It is not enough to be a mere technological intermediaryPlatforms that facilitate transactions of goods and services with a high impact on health, such as food, must assume a reinforced level of diligence or risk very high penalties.
Towards a new standard of control in food delivery
The case opened by Chinese authorities against these seven platforms is considered one of the most important since the reform of the Food Safety Act in 2015, both because of the economic volume of the fines and because of the symbolic impact it has on the digital sector.
The sanctions mark a possible turning point for the business model of food delivery apps, which until now had relied on a rapid expansion of the restaurant catalog, often with mass registration processes and limited verifications, in some cases associated with dropshipping modelsThis approach now faces greater demands for internal control.
Meanwhile, regulators in other countries are closely monitoring these types of actions, aware that licensing, hygiene, and liability issues in the event of food incidents are virtually identical in any market. The Chinese case could be used as a model. reference or justification to strengthen regulatory frameworks in other jurisdictions.
For consumers, the regulatory movement points to a scenario in which, beyond convenience and price, the following will become increasingly important: guarantee that establishments comply with legal requirementsIn the medium term, platforms may be forced to display the accreditations and certifications of each seller more visibly.
In this context, both in China and in Europe and Spain, companies that manage to integrate stricter quality and food safety controls into their daily operations could become a reference of trust in a market that is increasingly monitored by the authorities and more demanding by users.
This entire process of regulatory refinement and strengthening suggests a future in which the expansion of e-commerce and home delivery will necessarily go hand in hand with a greater accountability and transparency on the part of the platforms, which will no longer be able to hide behind only the role of technological intermediaries.
