Meituan is in hot water with Beijing authorities over food delivery

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It’s a problem that seems to keep popping up in China’s online-to-offline food delivery industry: the restaurants available to order from may not be licensed. Alibaba-backed food delivery startup Ele.me got blasted by state media for it last spring, and now major daily deals player Meituan is in trouble with Beijing authorities over the same issue.

According to Techweb, 503 shops Meituan works with lack the proper food safety operational licenses. Beijing’s Food and Drug Administration plans a serious investigation and punishment in accordance with the law if wrongdoing is found.

Under Chinese law, food delivery platforms are supposed to clearly display each restaurant’s location and its food-related permits on the main page so that customers can easily check to be sure the food they’re getting is legal. But problems and complaints related to unlicensed shops selling online have popped up again and again as the online food delivery business grows. In the run-up to some law-tightening that went into effect on October 1, Ele.me, Baidu Waimai, and others have reportedly cleaned up their offerings – at least in the capital. Meituan, apparently, is lagging quite a ways behind.

Still, 503 unlicensed restaurants may not be as big a deal as it sounds. Beijing is a massive city, and between Meituan and other major players like Ele.me and Baidu Waimai, online shoppers in the capital can get dishes from more than 58,000 different restaurants online.

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from Tech in Asia https://www.techinasia.com/meituan-hot-water-beijing-authorities-food-delivery
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