China announces rewards for food safety whistleblowers

Beijing wants workers to watch out for food safety violations.

On Thursday, the market regulator (SAMR) and finance ministry (MoF) instructed their local bureaus to encourage whistleblowing at food companies.

• Eligible whistleblowers include current staff, individuals who left the job within the past year, and those with business ties to food companies.

The rewards could be big (Gov.cn):

• Individuals who provide direct evidence of serious violations will receive 5% of the value of fines imposed. That could easily total hundreds of thousands of RMB.
• Those who only report the basic facts of a minor case are still eligible for 1% of fines, or at least RMB 1,000 – nearly half the monthly minimum wage in most provinces.

Get this: SAMR finalized the draft version of the announcement on August 30 – just after the closure of a national investigation into tainted edible oil, which emerged after insiders spoke to state media.

Get smart: Beijing wants whistleblowers to bring violations directly to local regulators, rather than making headlines.

• Doing so could boost public trust in food safety oversight, while also minimizing public hysteria.

Get smarter: Companies in the food, restaurant, and catering sectors should improve channels and incentives for staff to report issues internally.