Selling unlabeled pre-packaged children's food without proof of legal source, merchant ordered to return product and pay 10x compensation

Beijing News (Reporter Zhang Jingshu) Recently, the Beijing Internet Court ruled on a consumer dispute involving children’s food 【Download Black Cat Complaint App】. The plaintiff, Chen, purchased children’s spleen tonic online. Due to the product lacking any label information, Chen requested a “refund plus ten times compensation.” The court found that the product was a pre-packaged food processed and packed by the defendant, with no manufacturer, license, or record. This behavior constituted knowingly selling food that does not meet safety standards. Ultimately, the court supported all of the plaintiff’s claims, ordering the seller to refund the payment and pay ten times damages.

Chen purchased a type of children’s spleen tonic from the defendant Xi’s online store. After receiving the product, he found that it lacked information such as manufacturer, origin, or license, and believed it did not meet food safety standards. He sued the court, requesting the defendant to refund the payment and pay ten times the value of the product as compensation.

The court held that the product involved was food prepared in a packaging container, and the defendant claimed it was self-processed, thus it should be considered pre-packaged food. According to the Food Safety Law of the People’s Republic of China, the product lacked any labels, and the defendant did not provide evidence of record-filing or licensing for production and sale. Therefore, the defendant’s sale of food that does not meet safety standards supported the plaintiff’s request for a refund and ten times punitive damages.

The judge stated that food safety directly affects the health and growth of minors. In this case, the seller avoided food production and operation supervision requirements by claiming the product was “handmade” or “agricultural product,” selling unlabeled pre-packaged children’s food, which poses significant safety risks. This ruling clarifies that handmade food production and operation still require legal qualifications, urging food producers and sellers to strictly adhere to food safety standards and strengthen the legal protection of minors’ food safety.