Judicial Determination Of Punitive Compensation Liability For Defects In Food Labels

Food safety is related to the personal and property safety of all potential consumers.With the increase in consumer awareness of rights protection,laws and regulations related to food safety have attracted more and more attention from consumers,especially the punitive compensation system.Food labeling is the most intuitive explanation for consumers to understand food,and it is also the most important basis for consumers to choose the food.After the implementation of the newly revised Food Safety Law in 2015,more and more consumers are claiming food label defects.However,whether there are defects in food labels and how to determine punitive damages,different judges differ in their application.For example,there are different criteria for judging whether an operator "knows" or whether it causes "misleading" to consumers,and it is prone to different judgments in the same case.In order to unify the judicial determination of punitive compensation liability for food label defects,this article takes "Li Mouqiang v.A West Point Trading Co,Ltd,Mianyang,Sichuan Province,a product liability dispute case" as an example.Through analyzing the constituent elements of punitive damages,the article summarizes the three aspects of the case.Controversial focus: Is the food label involved in the incident defective and does not meet food safety standards,West Point stated that the food involved in the incident did not "knowingly " meet food safety standards,whether the food labels involved in the case affect food safety and cause Li Mouqiang to mislead.Focusing on the focus of the dispute,combining legal theories,legal provisions and case facts,the case evaluation is as follows: "Olive oil" is a valuable and characteristic ingredient,the food label should indicate the content of olive oil,the food involved in the case was not labeled,and the label was flawed and did not meet food safety standards;if the operator has fulfilled the purchase inspection obligation,there is no "knowingly" situation,and a West Point company has fulfilled the purchase inspection obligation during the transaction,and there is no "knowingly" situation;combined with the comprehensive analysis of whether the food label defects will cause potential harm to human health and the subjective content and transaction experience of consumers,the food label defects involved in the case do not affect food safety and will not cause Li Mouqiang to mislead.Therefore,a West Point company’s business behavior does not meet the constitutive requirements of punitive damages and should not be liable for punitive damages.On the basis of case analysis and the current status of judicial determination of punitive damages in my country,it is necessary to improve the management of food labeling and improve the judgment rules of punitive damages for food label defects in order to solve the problem of different standards in practice.A clearer determination of punitive liability for food label defects.