Regarding the Chinese labels on cross-border imported food, in the following three actual cases, the courts’ decisions were based on the literal legal provisions without considering the “original intention of the legislation.”
In May 2015, the People’s Court of Gongshu District, Hangzhou, ordered the defendant Hangzhou ** Information Technology Co., Ltd. to refund the plaintiff Zheng **’s payment of 3,734 yuan. Previously, Zheng ** purchased infant food worth 3,734 yuan from Hangzhou ** Information Technology Co., Ltd. on the JD Overseas Shopping platform, but found that there were no Chinese signs or labels during use.
In May 2015, the Hangzhou Intermediate People’s Court made a final judgment that the defendant company should refund the plaintiff Yang’s payment of 17,784 yuan and pay triple compensation of 53,352 yuan. Previously, Yang bought 120 bottles of spirulina tablets from the company online, but found that the products had no Chinese labels.
In June 2015, the People’s Court of Wuzhong District, Suzhou, ordered the defendant Internet technology company to refund the plaintiff Zhang’s payment of 7,671 yuan and pay ten times compensation of 76,710 yuan. Previously, Zhang had purchased infant snacks, complementary foods, milk powder, etc. imported from the United States and Germany in the online store opened by the Internet technology company on JD.com, but there were no Chinese labels or Chinese instructions on these pre-packaged foods.
From these actual cases, the courts all cited the Food Safety Law to support the plaintiff’s claims. This means that from a legal perspective, goods imported through cross-border e-commerce, like general trade imports, must comply with domestic laws and regulations. Specifically, these requirements are divided into two aspects: labeling and quality. Let’s take infant formula milk powder as an example. According to the Food Safety Law, the General Principles of Pre-packaged Food Labeling, the General Principles of Pre-packaged Food Nutrition Labeling, the Labeling of Pre-packaged Special Dietary Foods, and the Announcement of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine on Strengthening the Management of Imported Infant Formula Milk Powder (No. 133 of 2013), imported infant formula milk powder must not only have Chinese labels, but also must be printed directly on the packaging before entering the country, and cannot be affixed after entering the country.
In terms of quality, “Infant Formula Food” (GB10765-2010) and “Older Infants and Toddler Formula Food” (GB10767-2010) clearly define the standards for various nutrients. These standards refer to the growth and development characteristics of Chinese infants and toddlers, and are different from the quality standards of other countries. Judging from the infant formula currently imported through cross-border e-commerce, almost all merchants’ products of this type do not meet the standard requirements in terms of labeling and quality.