a way of saying
Filling sausages is not a "three no products", so that regular workshops can operate with peace of mind
Shi Fengchu
Hu Zhihong opened a sausage filling shop in Wuhan.
In December 2021, Zhao Peng (pseudonym) came to Hu Zhihong's store and bought stuffed sausages with a total price of 7,340 yuan, and specifically ordered vacuum packaging.
Two days later, Zhao Peng came to the store again and claimed that the vacuum-packed sausages did not have a production license number, which was a "three noes" product, and demanded 20,000 yuan in compensation from Hu Zhihong.
Zhao Peng first complained to the industry and commerce department, and then filed a lawsuit with the Qiaokou District Court of Wuhan City, requesting a refund of 7,340 yuan and punitive damages of 73,400 yuan on the grounds that consumer rights were damaged.
The court held that the sausage was a winter seasonal food in Wuhan, and the handmade sausage purchased by the plaintiff was a freshly made and sold food, not a prefabricated packaged food, and the labeling regulations for prepackaged food did not apply. Therefore, Zhao Peng’s claim was rejected and the original judgment was upheld in the second instance .
Hu Zhihong’s sausage stuffing shop should have encountered professional counterfeiters. His skilled shopping skills and rights protection art made many regular vendors fall into the quagmire of carefully designed "10 times" compensation.
It is gratifying that the judiciary rejected the plaintiff's claim after strict review, effectively safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of regular street vendors and workshops, and protecting them from malicious rights protection.
Such cases are not uncommon. Some professional anti-counterfeiters have set their sights on workshops and vendors who operate cooked food such as sausages, tamales, and braised pork.
Purchase a large amount of cooked food at one time, and use the large amount as an excuse to induce operators not to use standard packaging, but to use vacuum packaging without any labels.
After that, the operator was required to pay 10 times the compensation on the grounds that the vacuum-packed food had no labels, production licenses, etc., and was a "three-no product".
Such routines can be described as step-by-step, making it impossible for operators without legal knowledge to fall into the trap if they are not careful.
These professional anti-counterfeiters are also taking advantage of the 10-fold compensation system stipulated in the "Food Safety Law", that is, if they produce food that does not meet food safety standards or operate food that they know do not meet food safety standards, consumers can demand 10 times and no compensation. Compensation below 1,000 yuan.
However, there are exceptions for food labels and instructions that have defects that do not affect food safety and will not mislead consumers.
In real life, cooked food such as stuffed sausages, braised pork, and bacon produced by some vendors and handicraft workshops has local characteristics and is popular among consumers.
Most of these vendors belong to family workshops. They don't know the relevant laws and regulations, and they can easily fall into the trap carefully designed by professional counterfeiters.
These huge compensations can bring a family business into bankruptcy.
In particular, when the food produced by these workshops does not pose a food safety risk, this anti-counterfeiting model can easily cause panic in the local specialty food industry that has been operating for several years or even more than ten years.
What is gratifying is that the judiciary has a firm stance and the concept of judiciary for the people, and can accurately apply the law in complicated disputes. It does not blindly support the claims of professional counterfeiters and make operators bear 10 times the liability for compensation.
Such a referee is in full compliance with the law and common sense.
Bulk food is very common in real life, except for cooked food, cold dishes sold at night market stalls can be considered as bulk food.
If bulk foods and ready-made foods are regulated according to the same packaging standards as other foods or prepared foods, it does not conform to real life and trading habits, which will increase the operating costs of operators and the costs of consumers.
Therefore, the "Food Safety Law" stipulates different packaging requirements for bulk food and other foods, and the operator can mark the relevant content on the container or outer packaging.
Therefore, as the operator involved said, "There are so many sausage-filled stores in Wuhan, this judgment is as important to other peers." Feel the protection brought by the judiciary.
Let them believe that the judiciary will not condone unreasonable professional crackdowns. As long as they operate in a law-abiding manner and based on integrity, they don't have to worry about being blackmailed by malicious rights protection.