The State Administration for Market Regulation issues new regulations for online food delivery to rectify "ghost deliveries."

According to a report by CCTV, the State Administration for Market Regulation announced at a press conference that the "Regulations on the Supervision and Management of Food Safety Responsibilities of Online Catering Service Operators" will officially take effect in June.

The regulations specify the full-chain management responsibilities of takeaway platforms regarding merchant qualification review, information disclosure, process control, and issue handling. They require takeaway platforms to assume responsibility upon filing, be subject to regulation upon going online, and fulfill responsibilities during operations, effectively embedding food safety responsibilities into every aspect, process, and decision of platform operations. It warns takeaway platforms that they cannot just collect commissions without taking responsibility; they cannot only manage traffic without considering quality. Takeaway platforms must genuinely take on the primary responsibility of being the "gatekeeper" for food safety in takeaway services.

A responsible person from the State Administration for Market Regulation pointed out that "ghost takeaways" have always been a pain point for food safety in online catering services. The new regulations propose targeted measures, requiring takeaway platforms to conduct real-name registration for takeaway merchants and to carry out substantive reviews of the food business licenses and other operational qualification certificates of takeaway merchants through on-site inspections, ensuring that the information on the operational qualification certificates matches the actual situation, rather than merely conducting formal reviews