'Dine-in' label added to food delivery platform to protect consumers

Chinese leading food delivery platforms — Alibaba Group-backed Ele.me, Meituan, and JD — have launched a "dine-in" label on their platforms, and some merchants providing catering services on the platforms have been certified.

The move came after the State Administration for Market Regulation recently released a draft guideline on the supervision and management of food safety responsibilities of online catering services providers.

The guideline states that platforms should add a "no dine-in" label on the list page of online catering service providers, and on the main page of merchants that do not offer dine-in services, as part of broader push to ensure food quality and safety, and protect the legitimate rights and interests of consumers.

Currently, none of the three major food delivery platforms have labeled "no dine-in" for merchants on their apps. Instead, they have labeled the merchants that offer dine-in services.

Ele.me requires merchants to upload real photos or videos related to the dine-in environment, while Meituan requires merchants to be certified through offering relevant dine-in videos.