food delivery workers Photo: CFP

Recently, Tongjiang Branch of Liangxi District Market Supervision Bureau in Wuxi, East China's Jiangsu Province, received a report from a takeout clerk that the kitchen of a restaurant was dirty and messy.

Law enforcement officers immediately examined the restaurant and found the hygienic conditions indeed did not meet food safety requirements. They then ordered the restaurant to stop doing business at once, while putting forward rectification requirements.

A staff member from the bureau said that the number of takeaway orders was increasing because of the summer heat, bringing a test to food safety supervision work. The advantage of takeout couriers as safety inspectors lies in their large number and direct contacts with catering businesses every day. At present, more than 2,000 takeaway couriers in Jiangsu have joined the team of food safety inspectors.