China's Top Security Chief Orders Crackdown on Food Safety Violations

Chen Wenqing, head of the CCP Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission, convened a high-level meeting urging law enforcement to strictly punish food safety violations and crimes. Speaking alongside top judicial and public security officials, Chen called for tighter coordination between administrative regulators and criminal enforcement, targeted crackdowns on high-risk sectors such as school meals and health foods, and an accelerated overhaul of the Food Safety Law to clarify legal obligations for livestream selling and fresh food e-commerce platforms.

The high-level gathering—convened by the party's top legal and security authority and attended by the leadership of the police, courts, and prosecutors—indicates a shift from routine administrative oversight toward aggressive criminal deterrence. Platforms operating in live commerce, food delivery, and fresh grocery distribution face tightening compliance scrutiny and defined statutory liabilities as authorities overhaul governing legislation.

Chen Wenqing, a member of the CCP Central Committee Political Bureau and Secretary of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission, convened a specialized meeting calling for strict, lawful punishment of violations and crimes endangering food safety, state media reported. According to Xinhua reports published by official outlets, Chen emphasized that political and legal organs must treat the protection of food safety as a major political task. While assessing that China's overall food safety environment remains stable and positive, Chen acknowledged that incidents breaching baseline safety standards still occur periodically. Chen instructed law enforcement to pursue end-to-end punishment across entire supply chains. Priority enforcement targets include meat products, campus and school meals, health foods, and fruits and vegetables. Scrutiny will span core stages ranging from processing and manufacturing to online sales, terminal catering, and food imports. A central directive from the meeting involves strengthening the operational link between administrative oversight and criminal justice. Chen instructed security organs to enhance collaboration with market supervision and agricultural authorities, build a shared information platform, and establish bidirectional handover mechanisms that prevent serious offenders from evading criminal liability through administrative fines alone. In addition to enforcement measures, Chen called for accelerating a comprehensive revision of the Food Safety Law. The legal revisions must establish clear operating standards, licensing protocols, and legal liabilities for emerging digital business models, specifically fresh grocery e-commerce, meal takeout delivery, and livestream sales. Senior legal and security leadership attended the session, including State Councilor and Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong, Supreme People's Court President Zhang Jun, and Procurator-General of the Supreme People's Procuratorate Ying Yong, signaling unified backing from the country's police, prosecutorial, and judicial organs.