Carrefour, Sukhothai hotel feel market watchdog heat

Shanghai market watchdogs announced a series of administrative punishments involving food at a supermarket giant, a local hotel, a second-hand vehicle auction website and faulty shoes over the weekend.

The Hongkou outlet of Carrefour was fined 95,000 yuan (US$13,719) for selling food products whose sell-by dates had expired.

Sesame crispy cookie and walnut cake sold at the outlet were found to have been beyond their due date of consumption by the Hongkou District Administration for Market Regulation during an inspection on April 28.

The production date of the former was January 13 with an expiry period of 90 days, while the latter, made on March 17, had an expiry period of 30 days, according to the administration.

The total value of the two products was more than 1,200 yuan.

The practice violated China's food safety law, and the fine was made based on the severity and potential risks of a mega supermarket, the administration said.

Also, the Xinlicheng outlet of Carrefour in the Pudong New Area was fined more than 2,000 yuan for fake advertisement on eggs by the Pudong New Area Administration for Market Regulation.

In a separate case, the Sukhothai Shanghai Hotel in Jing'an District was fined more than 100,000 yuan in total by the district's market watchdog for operating beyond its scope, substandard food and breach of contract.

The hotel was found processing and selling oyster and salmon for its weekend brunch even though it had not obtained a permit to process and sell raw food, the Jing'an District Administration for Market Regulation said.

It violated China's food safety law, which rules that catering service providers in China must obtain catering service license and operate within the permitted scope, according to the administration, which said that the hotel obtained an illegal profit of 1,620 yuan.

Meanwhile, tests showed excessive use of procymidone and carbendazim, both germicide, in garlic chives at the hotel, which was also against the food safety law, the administration revealed.

In addition, a WeChat sales page of the hotel for a message service item contained a standard clause of "Sukhothai reserves all rights for the final explanation," which, the administration said, was pre-set and non-negotiable.

Businesses may not exclude the rights of consumers to explain standard clauses, according to Chinese regulations on contracts.

The hotel was ordered to make rectifications immediately.

Elsewhere, Shanghai Jinwu Automobile Technology Consultation Co Ltd, which operates online second-hand vehicle auction platform, ttpai, was fined 40,000 yuan.

The company claimed on the platform that it had opened offline trade service centers in over 40 cities in China, covering major active second-hand vehicle transaction cities and both its break-neck expansion and transaction scale continues to top the industry, according to the Putuo District Administration for Market Regulation.

The information was not accurate or clear, violating China's advertisement law, the administration said, adding that the company has since made rectifications.

Belle Shoe (Shanghai) Co Ltd was fined about 2,000 yuan after its shoes sold at Nanfang Friendship Shopping Center in Minhang District failed quality tests for containing excessive formaldehyde, a carcinogen.

It was also ordered to stop sales of the substandard shoes immediately by the Minhang District Administration for Market Regulation.