Looking at Shanghai’s business environment from the “cucumber-shooting” incident

There is always room for further optimization of the business environment. Even for a seemingly inconspicuous small project such as "Cucumber Shooting", a slight adjustment in the approval and supervision gesture is enough to influence the fate of many catering service operators.

On May 14, the Minhang District Market Supervision Bureau issued a new version of the food business license to the Daluhuo Japanese Restaurant on Longming Road. According to the requirements of the "Shanghai Food Business Licensing and Registration Management Implementation Measures" that were implemented on May 10, the In the column of business items of catering service operators, a bracket is added after the production and sale of cold food: "". It is reported that this is the first batch of food business licenses issued by the city for business projects including the production and sale of cold food after the implementation of the "Shanghai Food Business Licensing and Registration Management Implementation Measures".

It was this small paragraph of brackets and the contents in the brackets that made store manager Wang Hongjie's heart drop to the ground, and he confidently started patting cucumbers in the kitchen.

A Japanese restaurant on Longming Road. Photographed by Chen Xishan

The story begins a few months ago. Wang Hongjie, a food blogger, made up his mind to change his business and planned to open his own "roasted bird shop". However, when the prosperous shop was in place, some colleagues reminded him: "Don't do it." Make cold dishes, be careful if someone comes to cause trouble!”

After careful study, Wang Hongjie was caught in a dilemma: "Guests who have eaten too much barbecue will definitely want to order some refreshing cold dishes such as cold cucumbers, salted edamame, and fruit and vegetable salads to relieve their tiredness. If these cold foods sell well, they can probably occupy the store. 30% to 40% of turnover, but it is much harder to 'shoot cucumbers' legally and compliantly than imagined."

According to the original regulations, those who manufacture and sell cold food must apply for a corresponding business project license. The conditions to be met for approval include setting up a special operating room with a secondary changing room. The secondary changing room must be equipped with a pool and ultraviolet disinfection lamp. , special air conditioners, etc. The special rooms must be equipped with ultraviolet disinfection equipment, pools, water purification equipment, etc.

"If you want to meet the conditions, you have to rent more than ten square meters of space to set up special rooms and add equipment. I only make cold cucumbers, salted edamame and vegetable and fruit salads, which is really unnecessary." Wang Hongjie said frankly that according to the current layout of the store, It is difficult to carve out more than ten square meters of space. Even if there is space for a dedicated room, based on the current rent, the cost of occupying the space for a dedicated room alone for a year is more than 30,000 yuan, and all supporting equipment and facilities are available. We have to invest another tens of thousands of yuan, “Maybe I won’t be able to make back the money after shooting cucumbers for a year.”

The Daluhuo Japanese Restaurant has a special room specifically for the production and sale of raw food. It is used to prepare and process sushi, sashimi and other dishes, but it has no spare time to set up a special room for "shooting cucumbers". Photographed by Chen Xishan

Staff from the Minhang District Market Supervision Bureau updated the Facebook information for a hotel that had just completed an on-site inspection. A green smiley face represents a good evaluation result. Photographed by Chen Xishan

An ordinary home-cooked dish, but the threshold for production and sales in the catering service sector is so high, allowing some operators who are "afraid of trouble" to operate without permission, and thus are targeted by professional whistleblowers.

Tang Luyi, deputy director of the Minhang District Xinzhuang Market Supervision Office, told the Liberation Daily Shangguan News reporter that before the implementation of the "Shanghai Food Business Licensing and Registration Management Implementation Measures", the Xinzhuang Office received hundreds of complaints about the production and sale of cold food every year. pieces. Some complaints and reports have obvious "fishing" tendencies. The complainants deliberately order cold dishes that are not on the restaurant's menu. After the restaurant made them to satisfy consumers, it violated the law in a muddle-headed manner.

According to the Food Safety Law, anyone who engages in food production and operation activities without obtaining a food production and operation license and illegally produces and operates food with a value of less than 10,000 yuan shall be fined not less than 50,000 yuan but not more than 100,000 yuan. In other words, relevant operators will face fines of 50,000 yuan to 100,000 yuan for this small business without a license.

"We are already prepared. If we really cannot meet the approval requirements, it is better to simply not do it than to be fined at least 50,000 yuan." Wang Hongjie said frankly.

Even if the process is simple and the risk is not high, it is still necessary to set up a special operation room, which is very unfriendly to small operators and the public generally feels that it is unnecessary. The "Shanghai Food Business Licensing and Registration Management Implementation Measures" clearly set up "simple production and sales" business projects. On the premise of ensuring food safety, simple food production and sales activities can only set up special areas.

Focusing on the congestion and difficulties reported by enterprises, the "Food Business Licensing and Registration Management Measures" announced by the State Administration for Market Regulation will be implemented on December 1, 2023. Among them, there are provisions for "loosening" the production and sales of simple food such as cucumbers: Food For operators engaged in simple production and sales with low food safety risks such as thawing, simple heating, brewing, assembling, plating, washing and cutting, the local market supervision and management departments at or above the county level may appropriately simplify the equipment on the premise of ensuring food safety. Review contents such as facilities and specialized areas.

"Based on the relevant policies of the State Administration for Market Regulation, the measures recently implemented in Shanghai have been further refined." Xu Xuelian, deputy section chief of the Registration and Licensing Section of the Minhang District Market Supervision Bureau, said that although the State Administration for Market Regulation has clarified which processing behaviors are food safety risks It is relatively simple to produce and sell, but in actual operation, the dish of "Cucumber Patting" involves multiple processes such as washing, cutting, plating, adding seasonings, etc. Whether it is a simple production and sale is still a question mark. The "Implementation Measures for Food Business Licensing and Registration Management in Shanghai" is a direct "one-step approach", clarifying that only plant-based cold food is processed and produced, and simple manufacturing and sales business projects can be applied for. To put it bluntly, it means that it is clear which vegetables are for simple production and sale, and there will be no "fuzzy areas" when the grassroots market supervision departments review and approve them.

No longer worried about the high threshold, there are operators of KTV, teahouses and other businesses. They who process and make fruit and vegetable platters can also apply for simple manufacturing and sales business projects without setting up special rooms for this purpose.

On May 14, the reporter saw Wang Hongjie squeezing sesame sauce and ketchup on cucumbers cut into strips or discs in Daluhuo Japanese Food Tavern. He happily introduced the current cold dish processing area to reporters: "As long as there is a special operating table, a pool, and water purification equipment, and it meets a few conditions such as being far away from sewer ditches, you can do it with confidence." Wang Hongjie said that sometimes "putting" is more difficult than "Management" can better motivate operators to move forward. Without the worries of approval and dedicated rooms, stores can spend more effort and thought on ensuring food safety and improving service quality.

The "Cucumber Shooting" area is equipped with an operating table and a washing pool. Photographed by Chen Xishan

The "Cucumber Shooting" area is equipped with water purification equipment. Photographed by Chen Xishan