Nanjing is mobilising its citizens to be alert and assisting in efforts to crack down on violations in the catering and food industries as regards food safety. And by way of incentive for potential informants, rewards of up to ¥500,000 are up for grabs.
The revised Nanjing Reward Measures for Food Safety Reporting (南京市食品安全举报奖励办法) will enter force on 23 November, 2021. The Measures are intended to encourage the public to make timely report of food violations and potential food safety hazards, among other issues.
But before you dash down to that restaurant which served you a fly in your soup, camera in hand, ready to turn informant, there’s a catch. Or rather, plenty of catches.
While informants are free to report in their real name or under anonymity, provided their identity can be verified, all issues reported shall first be classified as Level 1, 2 or 3.
Under Level 1, the informant provides detailed facts of illegal actions, clues and direct evidence, as corroborated by the actual situation. A Level 2 report consists of the facts of illegal actions, clues and some evidence, and is partially corroborated by the real-world situation. Finally, Level 3 informants are able to provide facts and clues as to illegal acts, as borne out by the actual situation, but do not provide evidence thereto.
All very well, but what about the payout?
Food safety supervision departments shall calculate the reward amount in consideration of the report’s aforementioned Level, fines and confiscations issued to offenders and the degree of social impact, reports the Yangtze Evening News.
For Level 1 cases, the informer shall be rewarded between 4 and 6 percent of the amount of fines and confiscations. In a Level 2 case, the award shall be between 2-4 percent, and finally, the reward for level 3 report will be between 1 and 2 percent.
While the reward for each case shall not exceed ¥500,000, neither shall any reward be less than ¥2,000, ¥1,000 or ¥500, for Level 1, 2 or 3 reports, respectively.
While some of these numbers may not sound like much, the China Food Safety Law has teeth. An update to the Law made in 2019 now means that violators found guilty can face a maximum fine 10 times that of their annual income. And in the case of a big-name restaurant or hotel, those percentages start looking pretty attractive.
