Filters are full of color distortion packaging containers are all kinds of strange
Whose face has the exaggerated food propaganda hit?
□ Zhang Shoukun, a trainee reporter of this newspaper
□ Our reporter Zhao Li
Red-bright baked steamed buns with lobster, burnt brown fried sausages, golden pineapple rice... Seeing these food pictures, Zou Kai from Hedong District, Tianjin, not only did not have the desire to "check in", but was a little nauseated because of the high saturation Colors make food look too fake.
In addition to the color distortion, Zou Kai also noticed that more and more stores use some exaggerated containers for food, such as coconut water in 8-pound buckets, milk tea in infusion bags, noodles and snacks in kimchi jars. Lobster etc.
"Why do food recommendation pictures always use filters? Are the strange packaging or containers compliant?" Zou Kai was very puzzled.
Like Zou Kai, there are not a few people who do not understand the phenomenon of excessive food promotion.
The "Rules of Law Daily" reporter recently searched multiple food recommendation platforms and found that many consumers complained that they were attracted by publicity pictures or copywriting, and the food they ate was seriously inconsistent with the pictures and texts.
Several experts interviewed pointed out that when food pictures or copywriting are of an advertising nature, if the food that consumers eat is far from the picture, it may be suspected of false propaganda.
It is recommended that stores operate in good faith and abide by the law, improve food quality and service quality, and allow consumers to obtain real benefits and a good consumption experience.
Carefully retouched recommended food
Exaggerated packaging to attract attention
The reporter searched for "food" on social platforms, local life platforms, etc., and found that most of the top ranking photos were highly saturated and filtered food recommendation photos.
It's not hard to see that these photos were carefully framed and retouched.
Some bloggers photographed food sharing like material storage, and every corner of the photo is full of food; some bloggers use large plastic transparent handbags to show the large amount of food, such as thumb fried buns. Pack one or two hundred, with the text "one bite when shopping"; some bloggers use infusion bags for milk tea, plastic buckets for seafood, kimchi jars for noodles and crayfish...
Does such gourmet packaging comply with legal and regulatory requirements?
According to Ren Chao, a professor at the School of Economic Law at East China University of Political Science and Law, the Food Safety Law requires that food producers and operators should meet food safety standards, and food that is directly imported should be packaged effectively or use non-toxic and clean packaging materials and tableware.
Judging from many food promotion pictures, there may be certain safety hazards in related food packaging.
Chen Yinjiang, deputy secretary-general of the Consumer Rights Protection Law Research Association of the China Law Society, told reporters that if the food packaging is just "exotic" or "special" in appearance, it is hard to say that it violates existing laws and regulations.
However, if it is excessive packaging or food waste, it may violate the relevant provisions of the Consumer Protection Law and the Anti-Food Waste Law.
"The premise of diversified and personalized promotion of food is that it does not violate existing laws and regulations, and does not cause waste of resources and food." Chen Yinjiang said.
If the food image is an advertisement
The picture does not match the truth and is suspected of breaking the law
"How many times have you come to ×× just to eat this bite" "Always come here to eat ××" "Fengshen Series & Ceiling Series" "Fat sausages wrapped with green onions, the outside is crispy and crispy, and the inside is glutinous" "Pineapple bun with mashed taro, it tastes smooth and milky"...
In addition to exaggerated food pictures, many food bloggers' copywriting has also undergone "beauty", but after removing the filter?
The reporter interviewed more than 10 consumers in Tianjin, Anhui and other places. They were all attracted by the food copywriting to go to relevant stores to "check in" to satisfy their cravings, but they returned disappointed and bluntly said that they had been "slapped in the face".
Li Peng from Chuzhou City, Anhui Province recently found a crayfish soup dumpling shop with "20 soup dumplings in a cage, only over 30 yuan, each with large lobster" on the food recommendation platform, and eagerly went to try it. It turned out that there are actually only 6 soup dumplings in a cage, and there is no complete shrimp in it.
That night, he went to a hot pot restaurant recommended by a food blogger, and found that there were only two pieces of fat in the pot, and the portion of fried rice with cheese kimchi was only a quarter of the recommended picture.
"The taste may vary from person to person, but the amount of food can't be deceived. I don't trust online food recommendations anymore." Li Peng said.
The reporter's investigation found that the reason why some food recommendation pictures are seen in large quantities is because some bloggers bought multiple copies at one time, pretending to be one copy for shooting, and some bloggers brought their own ingredients to add to it, such as dough rolls with shrimp , crayfish noodles, etc., but in fact, these ingredients are not available in restaurants.
From the online "wine pond and meat forest" to the "leftovers" in reality, does this kind of food promotion with pictures and texts inconsistent with the actual situation comply with relevant laws and regulations?
According to Ren Chao’s analysis, if the promotional copy is only a personal comment by consumers, consumers have the freedom to make exaggerated comments on food, but if the promotional copy belongs to advertising, it should comply with the relevant provisions of the Advertising Law.
"Article 3 of the Advertising Law states that advertisements should be authentic and legal, express the content of advertisements in a healthy form, and meet the requirements of building a socialist spiritual civilization and promoting the excellent traditional culture of the Chinese nation; Article 9, paragraph 3, clarifies that the 'highest level' should not be used in advertisements. ''Best' and other terms. Therefore, when the food promotion copy is of an advertising nature, it should not use terms such as 'most' or 'Fengshen' and 'ceiling'." Ren Chao said.
Chen Yinjiang believes that when the food copy is of an advertising nature, if the purchased food is far from the picture, it may be suspected of false propaganda.
"According to the Consumer Rights Protection Law, information provided by business operators to consumers about the quality, performance, use, and expiration date of commodities or services shall be truthful and comprehensive, and shall not make false or misleading publicity. If it is inconsistent with the actual situation, consumers can ask the merchants to bear civil liability for compensation according to law; if the merchants deliberately deceive consumers through false publicity, it may also constitute fraud. Once it is found to constitute fraud, consumers can demand compensation for three times the price." Chen Yinjiang Say.
Gourmet advertising signage
Protect consumers' right to know
It is difficult to determine whether food promotion is an advertisement or not in reality.
The reporter noticed that the food recommendations on some social platforms did not indicate that they were advertisements, and some bloggers even emphasized that they were "no recommendation".
Reporters have also tried to complain to multiple relevant platforms about these food recommendations, but they were all rejected because they could not judge whether there was any illegal content.
Ren Chao mentioned that it is difficult for consumers to distinguish soft advertisements in reality.
EU member states have required Instagram software to clearly mark whether videos and texts involved in promotion contain advertisements, and there are similar provisions in my country's Advertising Law.
As a result, advertisement publishers, producers and operators, etc. have the obligation to indicate to consumers that they are advertisements when advertising, so as to distinguish them from other information and not cause consumers to misunderstand.
"It should be noted that for mass media, including the Internet, advertising should be clearly marked with 'advertising', not just 'cooperative promotion', 'cooperative publicity', 'chafan', and the word 'advertising'. It should be obvious." Ren Chao said.
Experts interviewed believe that consumers, platforms and relevant departments can exercise their rights and regulatory obligations in the face of such abnormal food promotion, whether it is an advertisement or not.
"Article 10 of the Food Safety Law stipulates that any organization or individual has the right to report violations of this law in food production and operation, to obtain food safety information from relevant departments, and to make comments and suggestions on food safety supervision and management. At the same time, the Article 94 of the Law refers to the situation of falsely promoting the quality of food in advertisements to deceive consumers. In the face of exaggerated food promotion, consumers have the right to know the truth, and have the right to report to Internet service providers and the market. The supervision and management department will report it. After receiving the relevant notice with the preliminary certificate, the Internet service provider should take necessary measures in a timely manner, such as deletion, removal, etc." Ren Chao said.
In Chen Yinjiang's view, the promotion of wonderful food may indeed have a certain promotional effect in the short term, but in the long run, it will not only fail to bring a good consumption experience to consumers, but may also slap the face of enterprises. Affect the positive image of the brand, and may even be suspected of violating existing laws and regulations and public order and good customs, making enterprises bear unpredictable consequences.
"There is no reproach for companies to carry out normal marketing activities, but the premise is that they must abide by laws and regulations, abide by public order and good customs, and not damage the legitimate rights and interests of consumers. Enterprises should operate in good faith and law-abiding, and focus on improving product quality and service quality, so that consumers can obtain Really affordable and good consumption experience, so as to truly enhance the brand reputation and promote the healthy development of enterprises." Chen Yinjiang said.