Going to the supermarket to buy food, some production dates are particularly hard to find

Food labels have many problems such as dense and small text and being obscured

For 73-year-old Grandpa Zhang in Suzhou, Anhui, what he must bring when shopping at the supermarket is not a shopping bag, but reading glasses.

"The text on many food labels is too small. Some products are only palm-sized, and various information such as the ingredient list, manufacturer, and batch number is crammed together, amounting to several hundred characters. I don't know how to read the ingredient list; I just want to see when it was produced and how long the shelf life is, but then it says 'see bag body' on the back." Grandpa Zhang told a reporter from Legal Daily that several times, because he could not clearly see the writing on the labels, he asked supermarket staff or other customers for help. "And it's not that products with large packaging have large label text; some products, although large in size, may have label text even smaller than that of small-packaged products."

"It is suggested to further standardize food labels and unify the labeling method, so that consumers, especially the elderly, can find them and see them clearly." During this year's National Two Sessions, a deputy to the National People's Congress submitted the "Suggestions on Standardizing Food Labels and Unifying Labeling Methods."

Production dates difficult to identify

The label on food outer packaging is its "ID card." The information recorded on it, such as the manufacturer, production date, shelf life, and ingredients, is an important basis for consumers to choose products. Only when the relevant information is marked clearly and accurately can consumers have confidence when purchasing and eating.

During an investigation in recent days, the reporter found that in addition to dense and small text, there are many other problems with food label marking.

On March 13, the reporter went to a large chain supermarket in Hedong District, Tianjin. On the packaging of a beef tendon product was written "Production date: see indication on packaging," but after looking through it several times, no trace of it could be found. With the help of supermarket staff, the reporter finally saw a line of numbers printed in very small text near the upper left corner of the product, and it was necessary to find the right angle to see it.

On the packaging bag of another sausage product, the label used a black background, and the production date was also black, with the writing overlapping the background, making it very difficult to identify. The production dates of some products are vaguely stated as on the bag body or bottle body, while others are clearly marked at the seal.

Supermarket staff told the reporter that indeed several products had labels printed very faintly, and customers had also reported that they could not clearly see the dates, but this was only a minor problem.

"Some production dates on food labels are inkjet-printed. After a long time, or with alcohol and the like, they can be wiped off or altered, and because of this we have repeatedly been asked for compensation by professional complainants. Now when stocking goods, we require manufacturers to send products with laser-printed production dates. In the past two years, there has not been a single ink-printed product in the supermarket." the staff member said.

The reporter found that in many supermarkets, foods such as tea eggs and small sausages are sold in mesh bags by the bag. The individual products are already small, and there is a lot of text that needs to be printed on the packaging. Putting it all together makes it even more impossible to see when the production date is.

The reporter noted that when supermarkets have discount promotions, staff often bundle multiple products together for sale, which causes the labels of discounted products to be blocked by promotional packaging or other products, making the production date especially difficult to see.

Ingredient list information is disputed

In addition to dates, the ingredient lists on food labels also have problems.

Because she pays more attention to her child eating healthily, Ms. Lin from Chongqing repeatedly checks the ingredient list when buying food in supermarkets; the cleaner it is, the more reassured she feels. However, she found that many foods marked "zero additives" are actually not so.

"During the Spring Festival this year, I bought a bottle of original-flavor hawthorn slices. In a prominent position on the bottle it said 'zero additives,' and below there was also a very small line of text saying 'flavorings, sweeteners.' Yet the ingredient list indicated that it contained two preservatives, potassium sorbate and sodium benzoate." Ms. Lin said.

There are also cases in which food label information is "covered up."

In February this year, Ms. Lai from Foshan, Guangdong, bought imported chocolate online. As a result, three characters in the allergy warning on the food label had been blotted out with a black marker. Only after posting it online and asking did she learn that they were "contains alcohol."

The state has always attached great importance to food safety. The Food Safety Law clearly sets out the matters that labels should indicate, and the Provisions on the Administration of Food Labeling also stipulate that food labels should be clear and eye-catching, and that the background and base color of the label should use contrasting colors so that consumers can easily identify and read them.

Why are there still many cases of non-standard food labels in reality?

According to Li Jie, director of the Beijing Guantao Zhongmao (Qingdao) Law Firm, there are many reasons for this phenomenon. For example, some enterprises are not very familiar with the alternating provisions of the law, and there are also improper internal communications and information gaps in coordination among relevant departments, resulting in defects in labels. At the same time, it cannot be ruled out that some enterprises deliberately create problematic labels in order to obtain improper benefits.

"Because many defective parts of labels do not actually necessarily have a real impact on the product, consumers and regulatory authorities are relatively tolerant of labels and instructions." Li Jie said.

Huang Qiongbin, a lawyer at Beijing Yinghe (Guangzhou) Law Firm, believes that if a label lacks key information, such as the production date or the types of raw materials in the product, it may infringe on consumers' right to know. If the unlabeled raw materials would cause adverse reactions such as allergies in consumers, it may also infringe on consumers' right to health. Once such a situation occurs, consumers can preserve evidence and communicate with the merchant about compensation-related matters, or file a lawsuit to claim compensation.

Strengthen law enforcement and standardize standards

Food labels are the most direct reference basis for consumers when making purchasing decisions, the part through which consumers can most directly safeguard their own food safety, and also the area most accessible to government enforcement and public supervision. How can various "word games" and "packaging games" in food labels be prevented from misleading and deceiving consumers?

It is understood that it is unrealistic for food labels to be completely identical. Different types of food have different sizes and packaging styles and cannot be completely unified. Sometimes, because the packaging is too small, some manufacturers can only compress the font in order to mark all the content that should be marked, resulting in food packaging labels covered in dense small text.

Li Jie believes that due to the diversity of food, the law can only provide general provisions on food labels and it is difficult to provide very detailed provisions for every food label. However, with social development, China's laws are also constantly improving. In 2023, the State Administration for Market Regulation issued the Measures for the Supervision and Administration of the Measurement of Prepackaged Commodities, which already provides relatively detailed provisions for packaged commodities. The annex to the measures specifies in detail the selection of legal units of measurement, the height of marked characters, and the permitted shortfall.

"Regulatory authorities should strengthen law enforcement and supervision in accordance with laws and regulations, increase efforts to crack down on illegal acts, and deter unscrupulous merchants and production enterprises. If consumers discover defects in food labels when purchasing, they can call the market supervision and administration department to report them, and the market supervision and administration department should conduct an investigation. According to the provisions, if verified, the party concerned should be ordered to make corrections. Food and food additives for which the food producer has taken remedial measures and can ensure food safety may continue to be sold; when selling, the remedial measures should be clearly indicated to consumers." Li Jie said.

Huang Qiongbin suggests that the regulatory standards for food labels should have more scientific classification and refinement, and that regulatory authorities should strengthen continuous training for enterprises and increase guidance and supervision so that enterprise production has clearer directions and paths and the level of standardization of food labels is improved. In the field of food production, the level of scientific and technological application should be improved, and the standardization of food labels can explore lower-cost and more efficient methods. For example, for packaging that is too small, complete label information can be marked with a QR code so that consumers can scan the code to view it, while the packaging only displays necessary prompts or product information for reference in purchasing.