China Deepens Crackdown on Ghost Restaurants in Food Delivery
China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) has announced plans to deepen its special rectification campaign against “ghost restaurants” — unlicensed or fraudulent food establishments operating on delivery platforms — as part of a broader push to protect consumer safety and improve industry standards.
According to Xinhua News, the decision came out of the National Market Regulation Enforcement and Inspection Work Conference and Symposium on Investigating “Ghost Restaurant” Violations held on September 2. The regulator confirmed it will continue the crackdown through the second half of 2026, coordinating with anti-organized crime and anti-telecom fraud campaigns.
The announcement follows a year of escalating enforcement action that has reshaped China’s online food delivery landscape.
A Growing Regulatory Offensive
The latest commitment builds on significant enforcement momentum. In the first half of 2026, China’s national market regulation system investigated and handled 641,700 cases, collecting 6.982 billion yuan in fines and confiscated funds, according to CCTV News. The ghost restaurant rectification was cited as having achieved “positive results,” effectively regulating market order and protecting consumer safety.
The crackdown escalated dramatically in April 2026, when SAMR imposed fines totaling 3.597 billion yuan on seven major e-commerce platforms — Pinduoduo, Meituan, JD.com, Taobao Flash Purchase, Douyin, Taobao, and Tmall — in what was described as the largest fine in the history of China’s Food Safety Law. As 21st Century Business Herald reported, the investigation confirmed 67,604 ghost shops operating across the seven platforms, along with more than 3.6 million illegally transferred cake orders worth over 100 million yuan.
What Are Ghost Restaurants?
“Ghost restaurants” refer to food establishments that operate on delivery platforms without legitimate physical premises, proper food safety compliance, or valid licenses. Common characteristics include fake or borrowed licenses, fabricated addresses, and “order transfer” schemes where ghost shops receive orders but subcontract food preparation to unverified vendors.
A landmark case that triggered the nationwide investigation involved the “Sweet Love Letter” cake brand, which operated 378 chain stores across Beijing — all of which had forged food operation licenses and no physical locations. Investigators discovered that ghost shops were using order-transfer platforms like Chongqing Zhuandanbao and Anhui Xunmeng to reroute orders to unverified food preparers, creating a hidden supply chain that bypassed food safety oversight entirely.
New Regulations and Platform Accountability
A key regulatory shift came in February 2026, when SAMR issued the “Regulations on the Supervision and Management of Online Food Service Operators Implementing Food Safety Subject Responsibility,” which took effect on June 1, 2026. As Jinan News reported, the new rules require platforms to conduct substantive — not just formal — review of merchant licenses, verify against provincial market regulator databases, and re-verify merchant information at least every six months.
The regulations were designed to address what regulators described as systemic platform failures. “The e-commerce platforms and order-transfer platforms colluded to form a complete illegal industrial chain, providing technical support and trading venues for the batch listing of ghost shops and illegal order transfers,” said Han Bing, director of the 4th Division of SAMR’s Enforcement and Inspection Bureau, as quoted in Shandong News.
Industry Response and Compliance Measures
Delivery platforms have begun implementing new verification tools. In January 2026, Meituan launched its “one-shot video” store verification feature in eight pilot cities, requiring merchants to upload unedited video showing their storefront, kitchen, and qualifications, according to National Business Daily. The feature was expanded nationwide by May.
In June, SAMR spokesperson Wang Qiuping announced plans to issue a special document for “no-dining-area” food delivery establishments, exploring centralized standardized management models, as reported by CNR. Guangzhou has already taken down over 37,000 unlicensed online shops in the first half of 2026, according to Guangzhou Daily.
Broader Implications
The ghost restaurant crackdown is part of a broader pattern of Chinese regulators asserting control over the platform economy, addressing issues ranging from anti-monopoly concerns to “involution-style” competition chaos. Legal experts suggest the enforcement approach marks a fundamental shift in how platforms are held accountable.
“Significantly raising the cost of violations will have a profound impact on the online food delivery industry,” said Sun Juanjuan, associate professor at Hebei Agricultural University and researcher at Renmin University’s Food Safety Governance Collaborative Innovation Center, as cited in China Food Safety Net. “Platforms should elevate food safety from ‘passive compliance’ to a core strategy.”
What to Watch
As the second-half 2026 enforcement campaign unfolds, observers will be watching whether platforms fully implement the new verification requirements and whether the crackdown extends beyond cake shops to other food categories. The regulator has also signaled it will focus on standardizing enforcement practices through its “Clean Wind Iron Discipline” campaign, suggesting the ghost restaurant crackdown is part of a longer-term regulatory transformation rather than a one-off enforcement action.
For consumers, the message is clear: regulators are treating food safety on delivery platforms as a priority, and platforms are being held to account as “gatekeepers” of the industry. The question now is whether the enforcement momentum can be sustained — and whether the ghost restaurant ecosystem can be fully dismantled.