Food Nutrition Label Label Error And Punitive Compensation Application

Since the implementation of the newly revised food safety law in 2015,a large number of cases of punitive damages for food label defects have emerged.Some of them,as consumers,protect their own interests,and some speculators take advantage of the punitive damages mechanism to make profits.Because the provisions of punitive damages and relevant judicial interpretations of the law fail to clearly define the applicable premise,scope and conditions,and the judges’ personal judgment on the value of food safety standards is also different,which leads to the common cases of different judgments in judicial practice.Based on the above reasons,this paper takes the case of Xu v.a science and Technology Development Co.,Ltd.in Shanghai as the starting point to explore the special situation of food label defects-the relationship between nutrition label error and the application of punitive damages.The focus of controversy in this case: 1.Whether Xu is the qualified subject of this case;2.Whether the nutrition label error meets the food safety standards;3.Whether Xu has the right to claim punitive damages.Focusing on the facts of the case and the focus of controversy,combined with legal theory and legal provisions,the analysis is as follows: first of all,those who know the fake and buy the fake belong to the category of consumers,and they are only different from ordinary consumers in the purpose of consumption.In the field of food safety,the law does not prohibit the act of knowing and buying fake,so Xu’s litigation status is not affected by the act of knowing and buying fake.Secondly,nutrition label is an integral part of food label,and the label of nutrition label must comply with the corresponding food safety standards.The energy content of the food involved in the case was wrongly marked,exceeding the maximum allowable error,which did not meet the safety standard.Finally,whether the nutrition label error can be applied to punitive damages needs to judge whether it meets the constitutive requirements of punitive damages.The application of punitive damages is based on the existence of compensatory damages,while compensatory damages are based on the existing "damages".The damage may come from both breach of contract and tort,which is in line with the provisions of concurrence of claims;the premise for food operators to bear punitive damages is subjective "knowing";the substantive content of nutrition labels is different from general label defects,which does not meet the exemption conditions of punitive damages,so punitive damages should be applied.In the process of research,it is found that the food safety law and relevant food safety standards have some ambiguities in the application conditions of punitive damages.In particular,there is no explanation on the justifiable source interpretation of punitive damages,the application of exemption provisions of punitive damages,the conflict of provisions on compulsory labeling of nutrition labels and other issues,and there is no relevant judicial interpretation,which leads to the application of the law There is deviation.In view of these problems,this paper puts forward three suggestions in order to solving the corresponding practical problems.