Some people think that picking up leaks, while others think that stepping on a trap is a "leftover blind box". Would you buy it? Quality | Product | Sales | Consumer | Merchant | Leftover | Food | Blind Box

Surplus food transformed into blind boxes with no product information on the outer packaging. Some people think it's a leak, while others think it's a pitfall

Can you buy a "leftover blind box"?

Two loaves of bread for 5.9 yuan, three servings of sushi for 12.9 yuan... The merchant randomly matches the unsold food of the day and sells the so-called "leftover blind box" at a discounted price. This form of blind box sales for food has quietly emerged in cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Nanjing. Some netizens who try it out have posted notes on social media to show off, and even some have expressed that "if you want to set an alarm clock to grab it, you won't be able to grab it if you slow down.".

What are there in the "leftover blind box"? Can its food safety be guaranteed? A reporter from the Legal Daily recently conducted an investigation into these issues.

Surplus food transformation blind box

The original intention was to reduce waste

At around 10 o'clock on June 27th, the reporter saw a batch of products called "Magic Bags" being launched on the mini program "Cherish Food Magic Bag". The categories were mostly bread, cake, sushi, etc., marked with words such as "random pairing" and "surprise different". The reporter randomly placed an order and made an appointment for a "magic bag" at a bakery in Chaoyang District, Beijing. The pick-up time was from 6:30 pm to 7:50 pm.

At 8 pm that evening, the reporter came to this bakery to pick up the goods. The blind box item priced at 17.9 yuan had already been sealed with a shopping bag. Upon opening, it was discovered that there was a red bean toast, a sausage meal packet, and a caterpillar bread inside. According to estimates, these products would cost around 40 yuan to purchase at a regular price.

The merchant told the reporter that the bread inside the blind box was not made on the same day, but it is not a problem to eat it the next day; Determine the number of blind boxes based on actual daily sales, usually around 7 bags per day; Most buyers are young people, and blind box products usually disappear in seconds when they are put on the shelves.

Ms. Sun, a 26 year old resident of Changsha, Hunan, is a frequent customer of "leftover blind boxes". She has been trying fresh food since last year. "I came across information on a short video platform and found that there are 'leftover blind boxes' selling in Changsha. I spent 12.9 yuan for two European bags for the first time, which were suitable for breakfast. I have been buying them frequently since then. The joy of blind boxes is that you don't know what you can buy in the end, and breakfast is different every day," said Ms. Sun.

Mr. Yin from Hangzhou, Zhejiang, told reporters that he has also bought "leftover blind boxes". "The pick-up time is 9 pm, and after opening the box, there are two large boxes of sushi rolls, one box of avocado, one box of shrimp meat, and small dishes such as Yuzi Shao and seaweed shreds.".

The reporter compared multiple "leftover blind box" mini programs and found that the blind box products mainly include bread, sushi, braised dishes, as well as fruits, milk tea, etc. Some of the merchants are well-known chain bakeries; Blind box products can be obtained through appointment or online purchase, and the pick-up time is usually after 6:30 pm.

Why does "leftover food blind box" appear?

According to public information, application software for selling "leftover food blind boxes" appeared several years ago in foreign countries. Subsequently, this sales model gradually became popular in multiple cities in China, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Changsha, Chengdu, etc. Localized platforms such as the Treasure Food Magic Bag, Rice Grain Box, and Fun Small Bag entered the view of young people. It is worth noting that these platforms have merchants concentrated in commercial districts and office areas, and users have limited options.

According to industry insiders, it is difficult for fresh food stores to achieve a perfect match between sales and estimated production, which has led to the implementation of "leftover blind boxes".

Sun Guomin, the person in charge of the Xishi Magic Bag platform, told reporters that any food category sold after childbirth may have sales surplus due to various factors such as inaccurate production and order estimates, weather, and market conditions. Their original intention was to solve the problem of food waste, and also to enable consumers to buy "magic bags" at a more affordable price.

So, can food be sold in blind boxes?

In June of this year, the State Administration for Market Regulation issued the "Guidelines for the Code of Conduct for Blind Box Business", which stipulated that "food and cosmetics that do not meet the conditions for ensuring quality and safety and consumer rights should not be sold in blind box form."

The Guidelines also emphasize that food operators who engage in food sales and catering services by offering other blind box products for promotional activities should comply with the relevant provisions of the Anti Food Waste Law. Catering service operators shall not induce or mislead consumers to order excessive amounts of food.

"Under the premise of ensuring quality and safety, consumer rights, and complying with relevant laws such as the Anti Food Waste Law, food can be sold in blind box form." Rao Wei, Deputy Director of the Consumer Rights Professional Committee of the Beijing Lawyers Association and Senior Partner of Beijing Tianchi Juntai Law Firm, believes.

Professor Ren Chao from the School of Economics and Law at East China University of Political Science and Law told reporters that selling food in blind boxes is a controversial issue, and when considering whether food can be sold in blind boxes, multiple conditions should be taken into account.

"One condition is food safety guarantee: Food, as a necessity in people's daily lives, its safety and quality are crucial. It must comply with relevant food safety standards and quality requirements, including ensuring that food is fresh and not expired, stored reasonably, not contaminated, and meets hygiene standards. Another condition is consumer rights protection: blind box sales of food must ensure that consumer rights are protected, including clear handling methods for quality problems that occur after purchasing blind box food, complete after-sales service, and complaint channels." Ren Chao said.

Blind boxes are mostly expired foods

Uncharted information questioned

During the investigation, the reporter found that the majority of "leftover blind boxes" in China are expired food, which are usually unsold inventory of catering businesses on the same day and food that is about to expire. Therefore, businesses usually require consumers to cancel orders within 10 minutes of placing an order and at least 5 hours before the deadline for pickup. Otherwise, cancellation and refunds cannot be made. Some consumers also claim that buying food that doesn't suit their taste can actually lead to waste.

Although Ms. Sun often buys "leftover food blind boxes", she also has concerns. "leftover food blind boxes" only have one layer of shopping bag on the outside, and there is no product information other than that. What should she do if there is a problem with the food or if the merchant passes it off as good? "?

During the investigation, the reporter found that many stores had already completed the bagging process before consumers came to pick up the goods. Due to the fact that "leftover blind boxes" are mostly freshly baked and prepared food, production information is usually not marked on the packaging. Consumers not only cannot see the food, but also the ingredient list, shelf life, storage conditions and other information that should be labeled have disappeared from the outer packaging.

During the interview, some consumers told others that they were concerned about the presence of allergens in the food. At present, only some merchants have restrictions and allergens prompts on their product pages: "If you have restrictions or are allergic to certain ingredients, please consult the merchants in advance."

More consumers are concerned about purchasing food that is nearing its expiration date and experiencing gastrointestinal discomfort after eating it.

Regarding this, Ren Chao said that according to the relevant provisions of the Consumer Rights Protection Law, when selling blind boxes for expired products, merchants should clearly indicate "expired" or other corresponding content on the product packaging and provide information on the product's shelf life. This is not only a legal obligation of operators, but also a necessary obligation to protect the legitimate rights and interests of consumers.

The Anti Food Waste Law, which came into effect in April 2021, specifies in legal form that "supermarkets, shopping malls, and other food operators shall strengthen daily inspections of the food they operate, classify and manage food that is close to its shelf life, and make special labels or centralized displays for sale."

"Merchants selling expired products should ensure that the price of the blind box they price matches the actual value of the product. Consumers should be able to reasonably anticipate the value of the product they will receive when purchasing expired product blind boxes, and have a clear understanding of the price before purchasing. The sale of expired food blind boxes also needs to ensure that consumers' rights are protected," Ren Chao said.

Adhere to the bottom line of food safety

Clarify blind box sales standards

In recent years, blind boxes have become a hot topic in the consumer market, and their uncertain fun has made them popular among consumers. The blind box trend has spread from toys, clothing and other fields to the catering industry, giving rise to "leftover blind boxes".

In Rao Wei's view, "leftover blind boxes" provide the possibility of resale for food products that have not been successfully traded. If this model can develop in a healthy way, it will help businesses reduce operating costs, consumers buy cost-effective food, and reduce food waste.

However, the food safety issues involved in "leftover blind boxes" are also of great concern.

In the interview, both the sales and platform sides told the reporter that they will strictly control quality and safety.

Sun Guomin introduced that in order to ensure food safety, when merchants enter the platform, they will be strictly screened and audited to ensure that the photos are complete, comply with legal and regulatory requirements, and use technical means such as entering SKUs to track and manage the quality and shelf life of food; Users can bring their own "magic bag" to the store, and when opening it, they can check the quality and time of the product. There is no risk of third-party contact with food, which can ensure food safety.

The interviewed experts believe that although the "leftover blind box" model has just begun, food safety supervision work cannot be absent.

Ren Chao suggests that in order to better regulate the operation of the "leftover blind box" model, all parties should pay attention to the following issues and take corresponding measures. From the perspective of operators or merchants, they should strengthen food safety management, ensure that the food they sell meets safety and quality standards, adopt correct storage, processing, and packaging methods, and ensure the freshness and safety of the food. In terms of information disclosure, merchants should have clear product identification, including ingredient sources, production dates, shelf life, storage methods, etc., so that consumers can make informed decisions. In terms of quality control, businesses should establish a sound quality control system to ensure the reliable quality of food in "leftover blind boxes", including strict testing, quality control procedures, and standardized operations.

"From the perspective of government departments, relevant regulatory departments should increase their supervision on the sales of 'leftover blind boxes', establish and improve supervision and inspection mechanisms, strengthen daily supervision and sampling testing of merchants, and timely improve relevant rules and regulations, clarify the standards and requirements for the sales of' leftover blind boxes', in order to protect consumer rights and food safety," Ren Chao said.

In Ren Chao's view, from a consumer perspective, it is important to understand the relevant knowledge of food selection and purchase, read product information, consider one's own needs, and approach blind box sales rationally. Consumers should choose reputable and reputable merchants to purchase "leftover blind boxes" and avoid buying food with unknown origin or that does not meet safety requirements. We also need to focus on providing feedback and suggestions to help businesses and regulatory authorities improve product quality and services.

"The safe and orderly development of 'leftover food blind boxes' still requires social governance. The media can strengthen supervision and reporting on' leftover food blind boxes', reveal industry problems and non-standard phenomena, promote social attention and joint supervision. Industry associations and businesses should actively strengthen self-discipline, formulate industry norms and norms, and promote the healthy development of the industry." Ren Chao called for.