On July 13th, the Market Supervision and Administration Bureau of Zhejiang Province disclosed a series of representative cases involving food adulteration, forgery of permits, and illegal additions within the online catering sector.
Among the 11 highlighted cases, four involved the fraudulent substitution of meat sources. In one instance, a snack shop in Yuhang District, Hangzhou, sold "lamb kidney" skewers on a food delivery platform that were actually made from beef kidney and sheep fat. Additionally, its "lamb skewers" were found to contain pork-derived components. A hot pot restaurant in Xiuzhou District, Jiaxing mislabeled products on a delivery platform: "hot pot meat roll slices" made from duck meat were labeled as fatty beef slices; "black pepper strips" made from duck meat were labeled as pork; "No. 1 meat skewers" made from chicken were labeled as pork loin slices; and "juicy meatballs" made from chicken were described as beef balls. A restaurant in Wucheng District, Jinhua produced and sold counterfeit donkey meat burgers, using various horse meat sources to impersonate donkey meat dishes. A chain restaurant brand in Kecheng District, Quzhou had items like "juicy beef balls" and "snowflake beef steak" for sale on its delivery platform storefronts. Upon investigation, the primary ingredient of the "Minnan juicy meatballs" was chicken mince, and the "value snowflake steak" was primarily duck meat, with neither containing any beef components.
Yuhang District Market Supervision and Administration Bureau, Hangzhou: Case of False Advertising and Sale of Adulterated Food by a Snack Shop
On March 10, 2026, the Yuhang District Market Supervision and Administration Bureau in Hangzhou imposed administrative penalties on a snack shop operating on a food delivery platform for the illegal acts of selling adulterated food and false advertising. The penalties included a warning, confiscation of illegal gains amounting to 332.2 yuan, and a fine of 15,000 yuan.
On November 20, 2025, during an inspection of the shop, authorities discovered that the "lamb kidney" being sold was actually grilled "kidney skewers" made from beef kidney and sheep fat. Samples of the "kidney skewers," "lamb skewers," and "beef skewers" were taken for testing, and an investigation was launched the same day. Test results revealed that the shop's "beef skewers" contained both bovine and porcine components, and the "lamb skewers" contained both ovine and porcine components, constituting the sale of adulterated food. The act of passing off beef kidney with sheep fat as lamb kidney was deemed false advertising. The operator also failed to fulfill their obligation to verify the source of these food products.
These actions violated provisions of the Food Safety Law of the People's Republic of China and the Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People's Republic of China, leading to the imposed penalties.
Cixi City Market Supervision and Administration Bureau, Ningbo: Case of Forgery of Official Documents by an Operator
On April 8, 2026, the Cixi City Market Supervision and Administration Bureau transferred a case involving the forgery of official state documents by an operator to the public security authorities for handling.
During a routine check of online catering operations in April 2026, authorities identified anomalies in the permit information for three stores on a platform, prompting an investigation. It was found that since March 2022, the operator had used forged permits obtained through others to set up online stores for food purchasing agency services, profiting from price differences using coupons. A comparison revealed that two of the three uploaded Food Business Licenses had no corresponding issuance records, and one was actually registered to a different entity; all were forgeries.
This behavior violated provisions of the Food Business Licensing and Filing Management Measures and the Zhejiang Province E-commerce Regulations, and was suspected of constituting the crime of forging official state documents. Following the Regulations on the Transfer of Suspected Criminal Cases by Administrative Law Enforcement Authorities, the case was transferred to the public security authorities.
Cangnan County Market Supervision and Administration Bureau, Wenzhou: Case of Adding Chemical Substances Beyond Food Additives by a Restaurant
On June 2, 2026, the Cangnan County Market Supervision and Administration Bureau decided to transfer a case involving a local restaurant that produced and sold food with the addition of chemical substances beyond permitted food additives to the public security authorities.
On May 13, 2026, an investigation was launched following a law enforcement inspection. It was determined that the restaurant, aiming to make its meatball soup more elastic, purchased borax from a pharmacy and added it during the machine mixing of the meatball ingredients before selling the product. A bucket of opened borax was seized from the restaurant's kitchen, and the operator admitted to the practice. Samples of the beef ball soup and pork ball soup were tested and found to contain high levels of boric acid (a conversion product of borax), posing a food safety risk and potential harm to consumer health.
This behavior violated provisions of the Food Safety Law of the People's Republic of China and the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China, leading to the case being transferred to the public security authorities.
Wuxing District Market Supervision and Administration Bureau, Huzhou: Case of Providing False Information by an Online Food Business Entity
On April 2, 2026, during a special inspection of online catering safety, the Wuxing District Market Supervision and Administration Bureau in Huzhou discovered anomalies in the verification of permits for an online yogurt bowl merchant, prompting an investigation into suspected use of forged documents.
The investigation revealed that the Food Business License used by the store for platform entry was fake, having been digitally forged by a Hangzhou-based catering management company. Further checks showed that this company had engaged in similar permit forgery and fraudulent platform entry for its franchise stores both within and outside Zhejiang Province, involving over 60 stores and amounts exceeding one million yuan.
This behavior violated provisions of the Zhejiang Province E-commerce Regulations and was suspected of constituting the crime of forging official state documents. Following relevant regulations, the case was transferred to the public security authorities. As of now, 19 individuals involved have been subjected to criminal coercive measures.
Xiuzhou District Market Supervision and Administration Bureau, Jiaxing: Case of Production and Sale of Substandard Products by a Hot Pot Restaurant
On March 20, 2026, after clarifying the illegal facts of a hot pot restaurant suspected of producing and selling substandard products, the Xiuzhou District Market Supervision and Administration Bureau in Jiaxing transferred the case to the public security authorities.
On March 15, 2026, during a law enforcement inspection, authorities found that a local hot pot restaurant's delivery platform storefront mislabeled products: "hot pot meat roll slices" made from duck meat were labeled as fatty beef slices; "black pepper strips" made from duck meat were labeled as pork; "No. 1 meat skewers" made from chicken were labeled as pork loin slices; and "juicy meatballs" made from chicken were described as beef balls. The total value involved was 126,157.48 yuan. The act of passing off inferior products as genuine and false advertising on the delivery platform endangered consumer food safety, infringed upon consumers' right to know, and disrupted the order of online catering operations.
This behavior violated provisions of the Food Safety Law of the People's Republic of China, leading to the case being transferred to the public security authorities. On March 23, 2026, the public security authorities initiated a criminal investigation into the operator for suspected production and sale of substandard products.
Yuecheng District Market Supervision and Administration Bureau, Shaoxing: Case of Providing False Information on a Food Delivery Platform by Chen
On April 28, 2026, the Yuecheng District Market Supervision and Administration Bureau transferred clues regarding the criminal offense of providing false information on a third-party online food trading platform by an individual surnamed Chen to the public security authorities.
In April 2026, an investigation was launched into Chen's suspected use of fraudulent materials to open an online food delivery store. By comparing backend data, it was found that the business license displayed by the store on the platform had inconsistencies in its business scope, and its Food Business License had a fake license number and issuer, along with a forged seal code from the registration authority. Chen was the settlement account holder for this store and operated a total of 70 delivery stores on the platform, with the fake business licenses being approved in July 2025.
This behavior violated provisions of the Zhejiang Province E-commerce Regulations and the Measures for Investigating and Punishing Illegal Acts in Online Food Safety. As it was suspected of constituting a crime, the case was transferred to the public security authorities. Currently, authorities have uncovered 852 related stores on the platform and have taken criminal coercive measures against 2 individuals.
Economic and Technological Development Zone Branch, Jinhua Market Supervision and Administration Bureau: Case of Sale of Adulterated Food by a Restaurant
On March 20, 2026, the Economic and Technological Development Zone Branch of the Jinhua Market Supervision and Administration Bureau initiated an investigation into an online catering merchant in Wucheng District, Jinhua, for selling dishes on a delivery platform that used low-cost meat to impersonate donkey meat. Two suspects involved in the case were transferred to the public security authorities.
On March 6, 2026, the bureau received a report alleging that a restaurant in Wucheng District was producing and selling counterfeit donkey meat burgers. The investigation found that to reduce costs, the operator purchased horse meat, horse offal, horse intestines, horse penis, and horse tendons via WeChat and used these horse meat products to impersonate donkey meat in dishes. Up to the point of discovery, the operator had purchased over 91,463 yuan worth of such raw materials and generated over 250,000 yuan in sales from dishes falsely sold as donkey meat.
The act of selling adulterated food violated provisions of the Food Safety Law of the People's Republic of China. As the case was suspected of involving criminal activity, it was transferred to the public security authorities for further handling.
Kecheng District Market Supervision and Administration Bureau, Quzhou: Case of Sale of Inferior Products Passed Off as Superior by a Restaurant
On May 21, 2026, the Kecheng District Market Supervision and Administration Bureau in Quzhou transferred a case involving a local restaurant suspected of selling inferior products passed off as superior to the public security authorities, who have since initiated a criminal investigation.
On March 15, 2026, following media exposure, the bureau conducted a law enforcement inspection of a chain restaurant brand. It was found that the store's delivery platform storefront sold "juicy beef balls" and "snowflake beef steak." The raw materials for these items were "Minnan juicy meatballs" and "value snowflake steak," respectively. Verification showed the primary ingredient of the "Minnan juicy meatballs" was chicken mince, and the "value snowflake steak" was primarily duck meat, with neither containing beef. On March 17, the bureau initiated an investigation into the restaurant for suspected false advertising. The investigation revealed that the sales value of the involved products on the platform was estimated to exceed 50,000 yuan, constituting the criminal offense of passing off inferior products as superior. The case was transferred to the public security authorities on May 21, 2026.
This behavior violated provisions of the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests and was suspected of constituting a crime. The bureau decided to transfer the case to the public security authorities for criminal liability investigation.
Xianju County Market Supervision and Administration Bureau, Taizhou: Case of Providing False Information and Failure to Verify Information by an E-commerce Company
On June 2, 2026, the Xianju County Market Supervision and Administration Bureau in Taizhou imposed an administrative penalty of confiscation and a fine totaling 120,000 yuan on a local e-commerce company for providing false information and failing to verify the authenticity of information from online food producers and operators.
On December 25, 2025, an investigation was launched following a law enforcement inspection. It was found that as a regional agent for a platform in Xianju, the company's sales staff, to meet performance targets, fabricated 11 delivery stores on the platform (with no actual transactions) by misusing business licenses and identity information of closed stores or failed applicants, and using licenses of relatives and friends along with fake storefront photos. Simultaneously, the company failed to establish an effective verification mechanism and did not strictly review the business qualifications and information of merchants joining the platform. This allowed the fake stores to successfully enter the platform, creating food safety hazards, infringing upon the legitimate rights and interests of consumers and those whose identities were misused, and disrupting market order.
This behavior violated provisions of the Food Safety Law of the People's Republic of China and the Measures for Investigating and Punishing Illegal Acts in Online Food Safety, leading to the imposed penalty.
Xincheng Branch, Zhoushan Market Supervision and Administration Bureau: Case of Forgery of Business License and Food Business License by an Online Catering Unit
On April 20, 2026, the Xincheng Branch of the Zhoushan Market Supervision and Administration Bureau transferred a case involving a local online catering unit suspected of forging official state documents and seals to the public security department. The public security authorities have filed a case.
On April 27, 2026, the branch received a tip that the operator was running two online catering stores on a delivery platform, with uploaded business licenses and Food Business Licenses under the names of a building materials business and a stationery store in Xincheng, Zhoushan. An investigation confirmed that these two entities had not actually obtained food business permits, and the documents used by the operator were fake forgeries.
This behavior violated provisions of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China, leading to the case being transferred to the public security department.
Liandu District Market Supervision and Administration Bureau, Lishui: Case of Cross-Regional Online Catering "Professional Scam" Gang
On May 26, 2026, the Liandu District Market Supervision and Administration Bureau in Lishui transferred a case involving a cross-regional catering "professional scam" gang to the public security authorities for criminal investigation. Currently, the suspects involved have been subjected to criminal coercive measures by the public security department.
From May 20 to 22, 2026, multiple online catering merchants and offline stores in Liandu District reported several abnormal consumer compensation incidents at their premises. Upon receiving the reports, the bureau immediately activated an abnormal complaint verification mechanism, quickly securing evidence such as surveillance footage, order records, and chat logs, and solicited clues through catering industry associations and merchant contact groups. The investigation revealed that the suspects claimed compensation from stores for oral injuries allegedly caused by ceramic shards from tableware, consistently refusing medical treatment and demanding private settlement. The methods and claimed compensation amounts were highly similar, with cumulative merchant losses exceeding ten thousand yuan, seriously infringing upon the legitimate rights and interests of catering operators and disrupting market order.
This behavior was suspected of constituting a criminal offense. The bureau promptly activated the administrative-to-criminal case transfer mechanism, transferred the case clues to the public security authorities, and fully cooperated in the investigation. Further investigation by the public security authorities confirmed that the gang had been active in multiple locations including Taizhou and Wenzhou, carrying out over 80 catering scam and extortion incidents.
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