Lights out for deception: Regulators crack down on misleading market illumination

For those frequenting the bustling markets, the experience of purchasing meat or fruits at a vendor's stall might be deceiving. What appears appealing under the special lighting, known as "freshness lights," turns out to be less visually pleasing when brought home.

This phenomenon is attributed to the use of specific light sources at the stalls, colloquially referred to as "freshness lights."

According to the regulations outlined in the Measures for the Supervision and Administration of the Marketing and Quality and Safety of Edible Agriculture Products released by the State Administration for Market Regulation earlier this year, the use of lighting facilities that significantly alter the true color and sensory characteristics of edible agricultural products is prohibited. This is to prevent misleading consumers about the perceived quality of the goods. The measures are set to take effect on Dec 1, 2023.

Recently, the Hainan provincial market supervision and regulation bureau conducted a provincial operation of self-inspection to rectify the use of such lamps. The bureau reminded operators of edible agricultural product trading markets to fulfill their responsibility for food safety and stop the use of lighting facilities such as food lamps that may affect consumers' sensory judgment of meat, fruits and vegetables, and seafood.

Vendors who continue to use lighting that does not meet the requirements of the measures after its implementation will be issued a warning to rectify the deeds by the market supervision and regulation departments at or above the county level before imposing fines with amounts ranging from 5,000 yuan ($690) to 30,000 yuan in accordance with the measures. Consumers who discover relevant illegal behaviors can make complaints and reports through channels such as dialing 12315 or 12345.

In Guangdong province, the agriculture products trading markets in the city are taking efforts to modify the lighting in line with the measures. Many food vendors in the city have already made the changes, and many personnel from the market supervision and regulatory bureau have also been deployed to inspect the changes.

The Guangzhou market supervision and regulatory bureau has been taking measures to strengthen the publicity of the measures among the agriculture product wholesale markets, supermarkets, and chain fresh food markets to enable the operators to act proactively and make the necessary corrections in terms of the lighting before the implementation of the measures.

The bureau is also formulating its regional standards to further specify the color rendering index, color temperature, and so on to better regulate the use of such lamps in the markets selling edible agricultural products.