Notice of Shanghai Municipal People’s Government on Printing and Distributing the Procedures of Shanghai Municipality on Temporary Filing and Supervisory Administration of Small-sized Catering Service Providers

SMPG D [2019] No. 44

Attention:all District People’s Governments, and all Commissions, Offices and Bureaus (Administrations) of the Municipal People’s Government:

We hereby print and distribute to you the Procedures of Shanghai Municipality on Temporary Filing and Supervisory Administration of Small-sized Catering Service Providers, and request you to implement them conscientiously.

Shanghai Municipal People’s Government

December 20, 2019

Procedures of Shanghai Municipality on Temporary Filing and Supervisory Administration of Small-sized Catering Service Providers

Article 1(Purposes and Basis)

With a view to meeting the people’s demand for consumption, ensuring food safety, and guiding and urging the small-sized catering service providers that haven’t obtained food business licenses to fulfill their responsibility for food safety and legally operate food business activities, these Procedures are formulated in accordance with the provisions of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Food Safety, and the Regulations of Shanghai Municipality on Food Safety.

Article 2 (Application Scope)

These Procedures apply to the temporary filing and supervisory administration of the small-sized catering service (hereinafter referred to as the SCS) providers within the administrative area of this Municipality that are demanded by the people, do not affect the normal life of the nearby residents, have fixed business premises with a small business area and a relatively small scale, meet the requirements of food safety and processing hygiene, but haven’t obtained food business licenses.

Article 3 (Working Principle)

This Municipality shall, in the principle of “classified policies, strict regulations, reduction of the existing and control of the increasing”, exercise a comprehensive governance of SCSs that haven’t obtained food business licenses. 

Article 4 (Governments’ Duties)

The district and town/township people’s governments and sub-district offices shall proceed from a rational layout and convenience to the people, perfect the regional commerce planning, strengthen the supporting construction for catering service in such places as residential, commercial and industrial areas, and guide SCS providers to improve their business conditions and upgrade their management.

Town/township people’s governments and sub-district offices shall be responsible for the temporary filing of the SCS providers that comply with the requirements of these Procedures and organizing and coordinating with relevant departments to investigate and handle those that engage in food business activities without a legal food business license or a temporary filing within their jurisdictions. Town/township people’s governments and sub-district offices shall be encouraged to exercise the administration in respect of the standardization of signboards, tidiness and hygiene for SCS providers on the temporary file.

Article 5(Departments’ Duties)

All relevant departments shall supervise and administrate the SCSs on the temporary file in this Municipality according to law, and organize and provide the corresponding convenience and service, the specific work division of which is as follows:

1. The municipal market regulation department shall be responsible for organizing and coordinating all district market regulation departments to exercise market regulation in a unified manner;

2 The district market regulation departments shall be responsible for exercising the  regulation and administration over the violations in food safety and advertising management of SCS providers on the temporary file, urging them to publicize the temporary filing and relevant information, and legally ensuring that the consumers’ rights are well protected;

3. The commerce department shall be responsible for perfecting the regional commerce planning and coordinating in the layout of urban and suburban catering service outlets;

4. The ecology and environment department shall be responsible for exercising the supervision and administration over the violations of the provisions on prevention and treatment of pollution from the catering service;

5. The housing administration department shall be responsible for exercising the supervision and administration over the acts of the use of business premises;

6. The fire-fighting department shall be responsible for exercising the supervision and administration over the fire safety;

7. The urban management law enforcement department and the town/township people’s government shall be responsible for investigating and handling the violations in city appearance and environmental hygiene administration, illegal construction, and violations in ecological environment according to law;

8. The department of greening and city appearance shall be responsible for supervising and administrating the acts of collecting, transporting and disposing of discarded kitchen grease and garbage; and

9. Other relevant departments shall cooperate in relevant supervision and administration according to their functions and duties, and provide corresponding convenience and service.

All relevant departments shall, according to their functions and duties, exercise a comprehensive governance to those engaging in food business activities without a food business license or a temporary filing.

Article 6(Appraisal and Examination)

This Municipality shall include those engaging in food business activities without a food business license or a temporary filing into the comprehensive governance scope of illegal business.

The district people’s governments shall appraise and examine the duty performance of the town/township governments’, sub-district offices’ and relevant district departments’ duty performance in the comprehensive governance over the SCS providers’ temporary filling and the regulation over their operational and post-operational business activities .

Article 7(Combination with Innovations in Social Comprehensive Governance)

The district and town/township people’s governments and sub-district offices shall, according to the provisions of this Municipality on the grid management of food safety, include the business acts of SCS providers on the temporary file into the urban grid management system of their jurisdictions, and for food safety events found in the examination, dispatch rules and regulations and urge the recheck, and command and coordinate relevant departments at the same level and their branches to handle them in a timely manner. 

Article 8(Trade Self-discipline)

The trade association shall strengthen the training, guidance and service in food safety for SCS providers on the temporary file, lead them to do business honestly according to law by formulating service norms, and urge them to raise their management level of food safety and obtain the food business license.

Article 9 (Temporary Filing)

To engage in food business activities, SCS providers shall obtain a food business license according to law, and comply with the requirements of food safety laws, rules, regulations and standards.

Those without a food business license but in conformity with the provisions of Article 2 of these Procedures shall go through the formalities of the temporary filing with the local town/township people’s government or the sub-district office.

Article 10(Application Materials)

Applicants for SCS providers’ temporary filing shall provide the local town/township people’s government or sub-district office with the following materials (If a certain material has been collected into the municipal electronic pool of certificates and licenses, the application of the electric certificate and license is encouraged):

1. The Application Form of SCS Providers Temporary Filing;

2. The ID certificate of the person in charge of the business, and the ID certificate of the agent as well in case of entrusting an agent;

3. The valid health certificate of the food practitioners engaging in the work of directly edible food;

4. The certificate of legal use of housing or other certification materials of housing use prescribed by the district people’s government, and also the lease agreement in case of business in leased premises; and

5. The commitment of complying with the conditions of temporary filing, and the requirements of food safety, ecological environment, city appearance and sanitation, and fire safety, such as discarded kitchen grease and garbage disposal, odor treatment, fume and soot pollutant discharge.

Article 11(Conditions for Application)

An applicant for the temporary filing of SCS provider shall meet the following conditions:

1. The business varieties include various heat processing pasties, self-made drinks and hot food. If the business premises are within a residential quarter, the business varieties shall be limited to steamed or cooked pastries, self-made drinks, and hot food that do not produce fume, waste gas or peculiar smell.

2. The business premises is located in a fixed building, with a straight-line distance over 25 meters from such pollution source as public toilet, cesspool, sewage pool, septic tank, and waste yard, and with no area for confined livestock or killing live livestock inside the business premises.

3. The business premises is not used for personal daily life simultaneously, has a reasonable layout of technical process, which prevents the cross contamination between food to be processed and directly edible food, and between raw materials and finished products, and keeps food away from poisonous and unclean objects; complies with relevant requirements of the disposal of kitchen garbage and discarded kitchen grease.

4. Have the business premises, equipment and facilities that are appropriate for the food varieties and quantity in business and comply with food safety requirements (The specific requirements shall be separately formulated and publicized by the Municipal Administration for Market Regulation).

5. Relevant food practitioners shall have food safety training and pass the examination according to law.

Article 12 (Handle of Temporary Filing)

The town/township people’s governments and sub-district offices shall solicit the opinions of various parties such as relevant departments and the residents and property management enterprises surrounding the business premises before handling the temporary filing.

The town/township people’s governments and sub-district offices shall issue the Publicity Card of Temporary Filing for Convenience Catering Provider to the SCS providers on the temporary file, and notify the filing information to the local district departments for market regulation, ecological environment, housing administration, fire fighting, urban management law enforcement, and greening and city appearance. Relevant departments shall strengthen the information sharing, increase the channels for “services to be accessed via one website”, and cooperate with the town/township people’s governments and sub-district offices to ensure the work of temporary filing to be well done.

Article 13(Prohibited Acts)

The SCS providers on the temporary file are prohibited from engaging in the following acts:

1. acts of operating foods that violate the provisions of laws, rules and regulations;

2. acts of operating high-risk foods such as cold food, cold processed cakes, raw aquatic products, raw vegetable dish in sauce, and salad mixed in advance; and

3. acts of operating foods that may influence the normal life of the nearby residents such as hot food and pastries that produce fume, odor and waste gas.

Article 14(Other Business Requirements)

Besides engaging in food business according to law, SCS providers on the temporary file shall also comply with the following requirements:

1. They shall engage in food business activities according to the varieties and mode of business on the temporary file, and shall not operate other food business beyond the prescribed varieties;

2. They shall hang the Publicity Card of Temporary Filing for Convenience Catering Provider and publicize such information as the practitioners’ health certificates and food safety quantified grading in a conspicuous place of the business premises;

3. The food practitioners shall keep their personal hygiene and dress clean;

4. They shall record and keep the invoice certificates of the purchased food, food additives and products relevant to food;

5. They shall prevent the food from cross contamination or rotting in the processing, storage and operation;

6. They shall use the food packages, containers, goods selling tools, detergents and sanitizers that comply with food safety requirements;

7. They shall use the tableware that complies with the food safety standards and requirements and shall not provide on initiative disposable tableware;

8. The water used for food processing shall comply with the hygienic standard for drinking water prescribed by the State; the detergents and sanitizers used shall be safe and harmless to the human body, and cause no pollution to the food;

9. They shall comply with the requirements of city appearance and environmental sanitation, manage the environmental sanitation well, and shall not do business across the door or occupying the road. The discarded kitchen grease and kitchen garbage shall be collected and transported by qualified units, and the collection and transportation service duplicates shall be saved;

10. They shall comply with the requirements of ecological environment, and the discharged pollutants such as fume and soot shall not exceed the standards prescribed for ecological environment; and

11. They shall comply with the requirement of fire safety and their business premises shall comply with the provisions on fire fighting norms. 

Article 15(Time Limit for Temporary Filing)

The valid period of SCS providers’ temporary filing is one year. Where the lease term of the business premises is less than one year, the valid period shall take the lease term as the criterion.

Where the business varieties, mode or conditions of an SCS provider on the temporary file are changed, the provider shall handle the temporary filing with the town/township people’s government or sub-district office anew.

Where the valid period of temporary filing expires and an extension is needed, the SCS provider shall apply for the extension 30 days before the expiry, and the extension shall generally not exceed twice.

In case of handling a new filing and/or extension, relevant requirements of the first handling of the temporary filing shall be followed in the implementation.

Article 16(Operator’s Responsibility)

SCS providers on the temporary file shall engage in food business activities according to law, ensure the food safety, open the information of the source of food raw materials initiatively, subject themselves to the social supervision, and bear the social responsibility.

SCS providers on the temporary file shall improve their business conditions continuously, and obtain the food business license according to law.

Article 17(Third-party Platform Provider’s Obligation)

The third-party platform provider of online food transaction shall make a real name registration of the accessible SCS provider on the temporary file, examine its certificate of the temporary filing, and define its responsibility for food safety.

The third-party platform provider of online food transaction shall promptly stop and immediately report to the local district market regulation department the violations of laws and regulations by the accessible SCS provider on the temporary file if finding any; and shall immediately stop providing the online transaction platform service if finding any serious violation.

Article 18(Regulation over Third-party Platform Providers)

The municipal and district market regulation departments shall supervise and administrate the third-party platform provider of online food transaction, and investigate and handle the violations of laws and regulations according to law.

Article 19 (Strengthening Operational and Post-operational Regulation)

Upon receiving the temporary filing information, the district departments of market regulation, ecological environment, housing administration, fire fighting, urban management law enforcement, and greening and city appearance shall carry out the supervision and administration according to their functions and duties, establish a supervision and credit archive, give a timely feedback of the supervision information to the town/township people’s government and the sub-district office, and make it public.

As for SCS providers without a business license or temporary filing, and units or individuals that know the said providers engaging in food business have no business license or are not on the temporary file but still provide them with business premises or other conditions, the district market regulation and housing administrative departments shall investigate and handle them according to law, include relevant information into the public credit information service platform of this Municipality, and impose joint punishment on the illegal units and individuals for their dishonest acts.

Article 20(Investigation and Handling of Food Safety Illegal Acts)

Where laws, rules or regulations have provisions on the punishment upon an SCS provider that violates these Procedures, such provisions shall prevail for the investigation and punishment; if the violation constitutes a crime, the wrongdoer shall be prosecuted for criminal liability according to law.

Where an SCS provider engages in food business activities without a food business license or temporary filing, the municipal and district market regulation departments shall investigate and handle it according to law.

Where an SCS provider on the temporary file has any of the following cases but still engages in food business activities, it shall be investigated and handled according to the provisions of the Regulations of Shanghai Municipality on Food Safety:

1. The business varieties, mode or conditions change and no filing is handled anew according to the provisions; or

2. The filing is not extended or no food business license is obtained after the valid period of the temporary filing expires.

Where an SCS provider on the temporary file engages in business activities in violation of laws or regulations, the municipal and district market regulation departments shall investigate and handle it according to law; if the case is serious, the district market regulation department shall notify the town/township people’s government or the sub-district office, which shall cancel its temporary filing.

The town/township people’s government and the sub-district office shall organize and coordinate relevant departments in the investigation and handling according to the provisions of Article 4 of these Procedures.

Article 21(Investigation and Handling of Other Illegal Acts)

Where an SCS provider on the temporary file violates the provisions of laws, rules or regulations on ecological environment, housing administration, fire safety, city appearance and sanitation administration, relevant departments shall investigate and handle it according to law; if the temporary filing shall be canceled according to law, relevant departments shall notify the local town/township people’s government or sub-district office of the relevant information, and the notified unit shall cancel the temporary filling. 

Article 22(Other Cases of Exit)

Where an SCS provider on the temporary file has any of the following cases, the district market regulation department shall notify the town/township people’s government or the sub-district office of the relevant information, and the notified unit shall cancel its temporary filing:

1. obtaining the temporary filing by improper means such as deception and/or bribery, or transferring, obliterating, lending or leasing the publicity card of temporary filing;

2. having been complained of for many times and with such complaint confirmed true, or having been given the punishment other than being ordered to stop business, and/or having the temporary filing canceled for accumulatively 3 times within 12 months for violating the provisions on food safety; or

3. causing such cases as food safety accidents or of serious social impact.

Article 23 (Comprehensive governance and Regulation Information Sharing)

The grid management centers of all districts, town/township people’s governments and sub-district offices and all relevant departments shall promptly gather the comprehensive governance and regulation information of food business activities without obtaining food business licenses or temporary filing according to law onto the platform of operational and post-operational comprehensive governance information, strengthen the information intercommunication and sharing, and enhance the departmental joint action and punishment.

Article 24(Report and Complaint Mechanism)

Where any organization or individual finds an SCS provider has an illegal act in food safety, ecological environment, house use, fire safety, and city appearance and sanitation, it/he/she may complain and report by the complaint hotline of this Municipality, and may also complain and report to relevant departments.

Article 25 (Reduction of Application Materials)

Where an SCS provider that applies for handling a business license complies with all of the following conditions, the district people’s government may decide to reduce the applicant’s proving material that the premises can be used for business:

1. Handling SCS temporary filing for the reason of housing property right;

2. Not being subject to administrative sanction for two consecutive years during the period of temporary filing; and

3. The residents nearby have no objection.　　

Article 26(Matching Documents)

The Application Form of SCS Provider’s Temporary Filing, the Publicity Card of Temporary Filing for Convenience Catering Provider and other relevant documents can be downloaded via the general portal of Shanghai “online one-stop handling”, the official website of Shanghai Municipal Administration for Market Regulation or the website of Shanghai Municipal Website for Food Safety.       

Article 27 (Effective Date)

These Procedures shall be effective as of January 1, 2020, and be valid until December 31, 2024.