Meituan, Taobao Flash Sale, and JD.com respond to new delivery regulations

The State Administration for Market Regulation recently issued the "Regulations on the Supervision and Management of Food Safety Responsibilities of Online Catering Service Operators," which specifies that takeaway businesses that specialize in delivery services and do not provide dine-in options must prominently display a "No Dine-In" sign on their main page. It requires takeaway platforms to verify and compare the food business licenses and other operating qualifications of takeaway merchants with the data held by provincial market regulation departments, and those that do not match cannot be provided with platform services. This regulation will take effect from June 1 of this year.

Meituan (03690.HK) stated that it will firmly support, strictly comply with, and fully implement all requirements, closely cooperating with catering merchants and partners across the industry chain to build an intelligent and proactive food safety system, promoting social co-governance and ensuring food safety throughout the process. Meituan also expressed that it will increase investment, continue to provide financial, traffic, and technical support to catering merchants, and accelerate the development of AI products for food safety, such as image recognition and kitchen early warning systems.

Taobao Flash Sale stated that under the guidance of regulatory authorities, the platform, in collaboration with ecological partners and various sectors of society, will continue to build a "3+1+AI" food safety co-governance system. This system is based on three core mechanisms: strict platform merchant entry review, dynamic daily operational inspections, and open and transparent "Internet + Bright Kitchen" public supervision. In addition, Taobao Flash Sale has introduced a "snapshot" feature for delivery riders as a supplementary force for mobile governance, allowing riders to become "mobile sentinels" for food safety, promptly identifying and reporting potential risks such as abnormal licenses, unsanitary environments, and incorrect addresses.

JD.com’s takeaway service responded that the company has always adhered to the positioning of "quality takeaway," establishing multiple review mechanisms both online and offline, including video verification, photo re-inspection, and rider supervision, to reject "ghost takeaways" and ensure quality and food safety. At the same time, it has gradually established data interfaces for merchant electronic licenses with regulatory departments in various provinces and cities to enhance the ability to verify and control merchant licenses. Additionally, it has launched the quality catering brand "Qixian Xiaochu," which innovates the catering supply chain through fresh stir-frying, kitchen live streaming, and publicizing major ingredients, further improving food safety and quality standards in the takeaway industry