Because there are many food additives, the webpage does not reflect "shrinkage" in the food ingredient list, which is a consumer defense breach

The annual "Double 11" promotion is a great opportunity for many citizens to place orders, and food is naturally one of the hot online shopping products. Many consumers hope to buy healthy food with fewer additives. The ingredient list indicating various ingredients has become an important basis for people to choose when purchasing food.

At the flagship store of Taobao Tmall's "Ha Rou Lian", Ms. Li took a liking to a Sofia ham sausage. During the promotion period of "Double 11", she can enjoy a discount of 50 yuan for over 300 yuan. The product information displayed on the webpage clearly indicates that the ingredients are only pork, chicken, water, and starch, without any other additives. Ms. Li placed an order, but unexpectedly upon receiving the package and opening it, as many as 12 food additives suddenly appeared on the ingredient list of this ham sausage. With doubts in mind, Ms. Li quickly contacted the customer service personnel of the merchant. The other party explained, "Because there are many food additives, they are not reflected on the webpage," and specifically stated that these additives are added according to regulations, to reassure Ms. Li. Ms. Li does not agree with this explanation, as she believes that food safety and consumers' right to know are two different things. Regarding why the ingredient table experienced severe "shrinkage", the merchant customer service later explained that it was actually introduced in the product parameters on the webpage. The reporter clicked on this inconspicuous link on the webpage, but the ingredient list displayed on the page is only labeled with food additives, and the specific additions are unknown. On the link page of another ham sausage sold in the same store, there is no ingredient list information at all.

Subsequently, the reporter found a "Homer" bacon at Tmall Supermarket, and the webpage showed that the ingredients included pork, water, brewed vinegar, edible salt, white sugar, edible spices, etc. But when the actual product arrived, it was discovered that thickeners, water retaining agents, preservatives, etc. were added to the ingredient list.

In response, Li Han, a lawyer from Tianjin Shichuan Law Firm, stated that according to Article 17 of the E-commerce Law, e-commerce operators should comprehensively, truthfully, accurately, and timely disclose information about goods or services, ensuring consumers' right to know and choose. The product ingredient list information, including the specific ingredients of additives, should be consistent with the actual product in the website promotion, and there should be no shrinkage. That is to say, those online promotional pages that use the words "food additives" instead of a series of specific additive names are illegal. So if you find that this ingredient list intentionally shrinks again, don't hesitate to complain about it. (Sun Chang, Editor of Jinyun News)

——Tianjin North Network News