China Vice Premier Urges Stricter Full-Chain Food Safety Oversight

Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing called for rigorous full-chain supervision across the nation's food supply during the launch of the 2026 National Food Safety Publicity Week in Beijing. Addressing officials and industry representatives, Zhang emphasized seamless oversight connecting production, storage, logistics, and retail. He specifically highlighted digital commerce channels, instructing authorities to regulate livestream food marketing, community group buying, and online food delivery while consolidating crackdowns on unregistered "ghost kitchens" to ensure equivalent standards across online and offline vendors.

Food safety remains a sensitive issue directly affecting consumer trust and public welfare in China. By spotlighting platform liability, certification bodies, and modern delivery models alongside upstream agricultural additives, top leadership is signaling that platform intermediaries can no longer treat vendor compliance as purely an external vendor responsibility.

Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing has called for a deepened, full-chain regulatory regime over the nation's food safety ecosystem, urging authorities to maintain strict governance to eliminate safety hazards across production and distribution networks. Speaking in Beijing on September 22 at the main event of the 2026 National Food Safety Publicity Week, Zhang emphasized the need to implement central leadership directives and reinforce the party's "Four Most Strict" food safety requirements through continuous, everyday oversight, according to reports by Xinhua News Agency. Zhang instructed regulators to establish seamless handoffs between production, storage, transportation, and retail stages. He said food production and operating entities must stringently verify raw material entry, test finished goods before dispatch, and monitor operating processes from end to end. In parallel, platform enterprises and third-party testing and certification organizations must strictly honor their compliance and vetting duties to ensure product safety. Upstream source control was highlighted as an essential pillar of prevention. Zhang demanded the strict implementation of compliance commitments and certification systems for edible agricultural products, improved linkages between agricultural origin inspection and market entry approval, and tighter supervision over food additives to prevent substandard items from reaching consumer tables. The vice premier also singled out emerging digital commerce models as priority zones for inspections and targeted testing. Market authorities must closely standardize online food ordering, livestream-based food promotions, and community group-buying practices, Zhang said. He called on regulators to consolidate previous enforcement achievements against "ghost kitchens"—unlicensed preparation facilities selling exclusively through delivery apps—and push aggressively for identical standards and quality across both online and offline dining options. To strengthen systemic governance capacity, Zhang urged faster deployment of the "Internet + Open Kitchen" initiative, which uses live video feeds to allow consumers and regulators to monitor restaurant kitchen operations. He added that authorities should actively leverage industry association self-discipline and journalistic oversight to reinforce public participation in food safety supervision.