"The majority of business owners are requested to consciously remove them from the shelves. Our bureau will launch a special clean-up operation in the near future in accordance with relevant laws and policy requirements, and resolutely investigate and deal with relevant illegal acts."
Recently, market supervision departments in many places across the country have issued similar notices, requiring businesses to remove betel nut and betel nut products from their shelves.
Incomplete statistics from the Red Star Capital Bureau found that at least 7 places have explicitly requested to be removed from the shelves.
Data shows that the betel nut industry has an output value of nearly 100 billion. This time, the market supervision departments in various places requested it to be removed from the shelves or to press the pause button for its development.
Previously, the 36-year-old singer Fu Song passed away unfortunately due to oral cancer. He said on social platforms that his oral cancer was caused by betel nut, and called on everyone to "cherish life and stay away from betel nut".
Many places demand the removal of betel nuts
The regulations were first promulgated in 1996
As early as September 1996, the Xiamen Municipal People's Government promulgated the "Regulations on the Prohibition of Production, Sale and Consumption of Betel Nut in Xiamen".
In May of this year, the Market Supervision and Administration Bureau of Xishui County, Zunyi City, Guizhou Province published an article on the cancer of betel nut on the public account of "Xishui Market Supervision", and said: "Please consciously take it off the shelves and deal with it, our bureau will follow the relevant regulations. Laws and policies require that a special clean-up operation will be carried out in the near future, and relevant illegal acts will be resolutely investigated and punished."
From September 7th to 9th, the Food Supervision Unit, Comprehensive Law Enforcement Brigade, and various market supervision offices of Huidong County Market Supervision Bureau of Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province also carried out special rectification of betel nut and betel nut products, requiring merchants to remove betel nut and betel nut products from the shelves. Betel nut products.
On September 13, Jianxing Town, Nanfang County, Nanchong City, Sichuan Province issued a notice saying that according to the “Notice on Matters Concerning the Supervision of Betel Nut Products” (Shi Jian Shi Sheng Han [2021] No. The Office of the Supervision Administration's "Notice on Strengthening the Supervision of the Sales of Betel Nut Products" and other documents require that from now on, all food operators must promptly remove from the shelves, and are not allowed to sell betel nut and betel nut products marked on food packaging and labels.
On September 16, the WeChat official account of the Market Supervision Bureau of Xinjin District, Chengdu mentioned that in order to further strengthen the supervision of the sales of betel nut products, Huaqiao Institute recently launched a special inspection of betel nut products.
In this operation, the surrounding areas of the campus, supermarkets, convenience stores, small shopping malls, etc. are used as key inspection areas to conduct in-depth investigations into illegal sales of betel nut. At the same time, the online takeaway platform is used to search for illegal sellers of betel nut, and then offline inspections are carried out to achieve precise strikes. .
At present, a total of 10 food business units such as convenience stores and supermarkets have been inspected, and 6 food business operators have been found to be selling betel nut, and they have been ordered to remove them immediately.
On September 19, the WeChat public account of Yingshan County Market Supervision and Administration Bureau of Nanchong City, Sichuan Province released a message saying that all operators are not allowed to sell betel nut and betel nut products marked on food packaging and labels; Immediately contact the food business unit to take it off the shelf. If there is any illegal act, it will be investigated and punished according to law.
On September 15, a businessman in Yiwu received a notice to remove all betel nuts from the shelves and permanently ban them from being sold as food, otherwise they would face punishment.
A relevant person from the Food Supervision Department of Yiwu Market Supervision Administration responded: "We have not received the statement that betel nut has been removed from the shelves in the city, but we want to sell betel nut as 'betel nut product', not as food. And it must be divided into regions. For sale, betel nut cannot be sold together with food.”
Betel nut has been listed as a first-class carcinogen in 2017
Betel nut contains arecoline, ephedrine and other substances, which can make people excited, and long-term consumption is easy to produce dependence, which has a certain degree of addiction.
Ruan Guangfeng, director of the Science and Technology Department of the Kexin Food and Health Information Exchange Center, expressed support for this "banned sale".
The biggest health hazard of betel nut is that it increases the risk of oral cancer, he said.
Arecoline easily burns the oral mucosa, and long-term chewing can easily lead to oral lesions.
The betel nut industry has always been controversial.
When the former State Food and Drug Administration announced the list of carcinogens in 2017, betel nut was listed as a first-class carcinogen.
Ruan Guangfeng said that the "Healthy Oral Action Plan (2019-2025)" issued by the General Office of the National Health and Health Commission stated that betel nut should be mentioned in the intervention of high-risk behaviors of oral diseases: in areas where there is a habit of chewing betel nut, chew betel nut for a long time. Focusing on the harm of betel nut to oral health, targeted publicity and education and oral health inspections were carried out to promote early diagnosis and treatment of diseases such as periodontal and oral mucosal lesions.
From the perspective of food safety, nutrition and health, and reducing disease risk factors, Wang Silu, a national first-level health manager and national senior food inspector, is more supportive of the latest "banning" regulations.
Wang Silu said that long-term consumption of betel nut is not only easy to cause oral cancer, but also increases the risk of tongue cancer, esophagus cancer, throat cancer, liver cancer and other cancers.
There is also relevant evidence that people with the habit of chewing betel nut have a higher risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, obesity, type 2 diabetes, gastritis, chronic kidney disease, liver cirrhosis and other diseases.
"Because the harm is so great, prohibiting the sale of betel nut from the source is the fundamental rule to protect the health of consumers."
Betel nut expanded by "harmless" advertising
The Red Star Capital Bureau noticed that not only did betel nut companies never put "harmful health" on the outer packaging in brand promotion, but also some companies claimed to be "healthy" in their advertisements.
The Red Star Capital Bureau checked the information and found that the earliest available betel nut advertisement appeared in 1997, when Hunan Economic Television’s lucky series entertainment program broadcast the advertisement of “Emperor Betel Nut”.
By 2004, the host Wang Han broadcasted the advertisement slogan of "Youwen Betel Nut" on the program "Super Girl", "I know your taste."
It can be seen from this that the early advertisements of betel nut were promoted on the basis of local media.
The Red Star Capital Bureau noticed that the Xiangtan Municipal People's Government issued a document on its official website in 2017 saying that the production of betel nut in Xiangtan City accounts for more than 80% of the province's total production, with an annual sales revenue of over 8 billion yuan, tax revenue of over 100 million yuan, and nearly 150,000 people. Engage in work related to betel nut.
From 2017 to 2019, the betel nut brand "Taste King" has been on the Hunan Satellite TV Spring Festival Gala for three consecutive years, such as Jia Ling's "Blind date is like chewing betel nut, you have to chew one by one to know which is the best. It suits your taste king", and then to Wang Han's "Hunan people eat the taste king during Chinese New Year".
Judging from the advertising slogans, the focus of publicity at this stage is mostly on "taste".
By March 2019, the Hunan Betel Nut Food Industry Association issued a notice requiring all betel nut production enterprises in Hunan to stop all domestic advertising and publicity from now on, and this work must be completed before March 15 of that year.
However, this paper ban by the Hunan Provincial Industry Association failed to completely restrain the betel nut enterprises.
Since then, betel nut advertisements have chosen to go out of the local media, and the focus of betel nut propaganda has also changed, from "taste" to functional "health", "refreshing" and "health preservation".
In 2020, the betel nut brand "Xiangtan Puzi" sponsored the variety show "Deyun Dou Xiaoshe", and the advertising slogan was "It is better to have wolfberry, and it is more fun to listen to cross talk".
According to the Tianyancha APP, the main operating company behind this brand is Hunan Wuzizui Industrial Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Wizizui Industrial"), and its registered address is Xiangtan City, Hunan Province.
That is to say, it is still advertising after the above-mentioned ban was issued.
A practitioner in the advertising industry told the Red Star Capital Bureau that a few years ago, the public had gradually realized the dangers of betel nut, and it is targeted for betel nut companies to use the marketing ideas of "health" and "health preservation" to hedge.
Not only "Xiangtan Shop", but the Red Star Capital Bureau found that the brand "Wonder Food" once launched a Dendrobium betel nut, claiming to incorporate the traditional Chinese medicine Dendrobium into the betel nut, so that consumers can enjoy the taste of betel nut while also protecting the body. health effect.
In the long-term "harmless" advertising, the market of betel nut has been expanding.
Until September 17, 2021, the State Administration of Radio and Television issued a notice stating that from now on, it will stop using radio, television and online audio-visual programs to promote and sell betel nut and its products.
The game between the hundreds of billions of betel nut industry and public health
The output value of China's betel nut industry has reached nearly 100 billion.
According to the "China Market Supervision News" data, from 2011 to 2018, the output value of China's betel nut industry rose from 55.8 billion yuan to 78.1 billion yuan, and continued to rise.
With the tightening of supervision, where will the 100 billion-scale betel nut industry go?
Whether it is the suspension of advertisements or the "banned sale" this time, there is still a game between the hundreds of billions of betel nut industry and public health.
Despite the continuous voices of various medical institutions and industry associations, my country's betel nut industry is still expanding rapidly.
According to the "China Food News" report, data shows that there are currently more than 14,000 areca-related enterprises in my country, mainly located in Hunan, Hainan and Fujian.
Since last year, the number of betel nut enterprises across the country has jumped significantly, with more than 2,800 registered enterprises, an increase of 89% over 2019, and the growth trend this year is still hot. So far, more than 2,600 betel nut enterprises have been registered nationwide.
Some netizens said that the planting, processing, and sales behind the betel nut industry have formed an industrial chain. If "selling" is "banned", the interests of employees and dealers should be fully considered, rather than one size fits all.
An industry insider in the western region said that the cultivation and processing of betel nut are mainly in southern provinces such as Hainan and Hunan, and other provinces are mostly betel nut consumption areas.
If "banned", in fact, the economic impact on the consumption area will not be too big, it may have some impact on wholesalers and merchants.
The reporter contacted a betel nut brand processing and sales enterprise in Hunan Province. Its national investment hotline customer service said that it has not received a "banned sale" notice yet, and the national investment promotion channels are smooth.
Facing the ban again "overweight", where will the betel nut industry go in the future?
"On the one hand, there are real local and corporate interests, and on the other hand, public health and hygiene. In the short term, it is difficult for all interested parties to give up." Ruan Guangfeng believes that the evidence of betel nut carcinogenicity is conclusive. scourge.
"The betel nut industry does have a certain role in promoting the local economy and employment in the short term, but the medical costs caused by diseases such as oral cancer will actually exceed these economic benefits."
Some studies predict that according to the current trend, by 2030, there may be more than 300,000 cases of betel nut-related oral cancer cases in Hunan, and conservative estimates may exceed 1 million cases nationwide.
The medical burden caused by betel nut-related oral cancer in the country is conservatively estimated at 200,000 yuan per case, and the cumulative amount may exceed 200 billion yuan, which is enough to offset its economic contribution to the society.
According to the "China Food News" report, "the national betel nut industry will reach a market capacity of at least 100 billion yuan in the future." In 2021, food industry expert Zhu Danpeng said in an interview with the media that betel nut belongs to a high-profit industry, while chewing betel nut The addictive nature of the product attracts a stable consumer base.
Taking Hunan, a major consumer province as an example, the proportion of the population who chew betel nut is close to 50%.
This is not only related to the living habits of people in many regions, but also closely related to regional economic development.
In fact, many people in the industry believe that there needs to be a clearer standard for the betel nut industry at present to guide related companies how to do it.
"The supervision system of the betel nut industry is still incomplete, and the development of the betel nut industry needs reasonable guidance." Zhu Danpeng said that he hoped that with the efforts of many parties, through legislative means, to balance the relationship between the development of the industry and public health, the supervision of betel nut will be pushed to the Reasonable and compliant direction.
No longer classified as "food"
What exactly is "betel nut products"?
As a first-class carcinogen, betel nut has been controversial for its "food" status.
In Hunan and other places, the betel nut industry has reached a scale of nearly 100 billion. Betel nut products have become relatively popular as "specialty food", and there are great hidden health risks.
Although the use of radio, television and online audio-visual programs to promote and sell betel nut and its products has been banned, the sales of betel nut products have hardly been affected.
Most of the main betel nut products sold on the market are produced by Hunan enterprises. From 2021, the Hunan Provincial Market Supervision and Administration Bureau will no longer apply for food production licenses and extensions for all betel nut enterprises in the province.
In other words, if there is no food production license, or the food production license has expired, the betel nut produced after this period no longer has food properties.
In fact, as early as two years ago, the latest revision of the "Food Production License Classification Catalog" by the State Administration for Market Regulation has cancelled the category of "edible betel nut". certificate".
The production license and supervision of betel nut as food has been lacking since then.
Accordingly, the relevant local departments require that betel nut products shall not be sold as food, which is a normal law enforcement behavior and is well-founded in law.
All places, including Hunan, should do the same.
How should the "identity" of betel nut, which is not a food, be defined?
What should the relevant manufacturers do?
According to reports, in order to solve the problem of unsubstantiated supervision, the Hunan Provincial Market Supervision and Administration Bureau has submitted a proposal to the provincial government. source" directory.
Relevant departments in Hunan are also striving to pass local legislation to determine the positioning of betel nut as a "local specialty product".
After the news was released, it was quickly questioned that "you want money or not your life".
It is worth asking that, after kicking out the food catalogue, "the betel nut is sold as 'betel nut products', and cannot be sold as food." Then, how should "betel nut products" be qualitatively defined?
What is the "identity" of "sub-regional sales"?
Relevant departments need to give a clear statement as soon as possible in order to stabilize the expectations of relevant companies and guide rational consumption behavior.
Chengdu Commercial Daily-Red Star News Special Commentator Shu Shengxiang
Chengdu Business Daily-Red Star News reporter Yu Yao Zhang Luxi Yang Peiwen comprehensive news