A man surnamed Li who bought 25 bottles of imported Japanese rice wine from a company in China found that the bottles had no Chinese labels. Li took the company to court, suing it for 10 times the price of the wine as compensation. The Haidian District People's Court in Beijing recently ruled in Li's favor.
According to the Food Safety Law, imported prepackaged food and food additives should have Chinese labels, and some should have Chinese instructions. Prepackaged food which doesn't have Chinese labels or instructions, or whose labels and instructions don't meet legal requirements, should not be imported.
However, in reality, food importers often fail to ensure the products they trade carry Chinese labels. Consumers can only guess the production and expiration dates and so cannot be sure about the food's safety. The situation has resulted in fake and shoddy products coming onto the market. Some consumers are so ignorant as to believe that only foods without Chinese labels are authentic imports.
Importing food without affixing Chinese labels appears to be a way to defraud consumers. It harms consumers' rights and may lead to health and safety problems. For instance, consumers who are allergic to certain ingredients may buy the wrong food.
Consumers should improve their awareness of their rights. They should keep evidence of food imported without Chinese labels and file complaints in such cases. Relevant government departments should strengthen supervision in order to combat food smuggling.
(This is an edited excerpt of an article published in Legal Daily on May 16)
