This catering enterprise surprisingly operated 15 "ghost delivery" outlets, Shanghai launched a special cleanup campaign, with delivery riders taking the lead.

The “Regulations on Supervision and Management of Food Safety Responsibilities for Online Catering Service Operators” (hereinafter referred to as the “Regulations”) formulated by the State Administration for Market Regulation are known as the “strictest in history” takeout regulations and will come into effect on June 1 of this year.

For a long time, the problem of “ghost takeout,” which has been widely criticized by consumers, is one of the key issues targeted by the “Regulations.” Today (March 23), a reporter from Liberation Daily and Shangguan News learned from Shanghai market regulation authorities that Shanghai is carrying out a special campaign to clean up “ghost takeout,” and a number of “ghost takeout” cases have been investigated.

From August 2025 to January 2026, Shanghai-based Catering Management Co., Ltd. sought to improve its competitive advantage by opening 16 brand stores on the Dianping platform, including “Cake & Afternoon Tea Break & Dessert Customization,” of which only one was an actual operating store, and the remaining 15 were fictitious “ghost stores.”

The company is suspected of using false business entity information and address credentials to conduct false commercial promotion. Under the jurisdiction designated by the Shanghai Municipal Market Regulation Bureau, the Huangpu District Market Regulation Bureau launched an investigation. Up to the time of the case, the company attracted traffic through fake stores, canceled 106 orders, with a total cancellation amount of over 100,000 yuan. After the case was discovered, the company shut down all fake stores.

Law enforcement officials stated that, according to Dianping’s search ranking rules, the geographic distance between the merchant and the user is an important factor affecting search results. The involved company opened multiple fake stores in different commercial districts, aiming to gain priority display in search results across various regions, thereby attracting traffic and converting transactions. This behavior essentially involves using false business entity information and address credentials to conduct deceptive commercial promotion and maliciously compete for platform traffic and transaction opportunities.

The company’s actions violate the “Provisional Regulations on Anti-Unfair Competition on the Internet” and constitute unfair competition through false commercial promotion of its business qualifications and credentials online. The Huangpu District Market Regulation Bureau has lawfully ordered the company to cease illegal activities immediately and imposed administrative penalties.

Takeout delivery riders are key “whistleblowers” in cleaning up the takeout platform. Recently, some clues about “ghost takeout” cases discovered and investigated by regulators came from delivery riders.

On the morning of March 20, the “Rewarded Reporting Platform for Ghost Takeout” in Putuo District was launched, and an effective report was received from a rider.

This rider recently noticed an anomaly when picking up food at a snack shop called “Xiong Doudou”: the license address posted on a certain takeout platform was No. 1921 Zhongshan North Road, but the actual pickup location was at No. 2170 Zhongshan North Road, across the street. The rider learned about the reward reporting platform for “ghost takeout” from the rider station manager and immediately reported this suspicious clue.

After receiving the report, law enforcement officers promptly conducted on-site verification and found that the shop only displayed an expired small catering registration certificate and was using someone else’s license information to operate takeout services, which is a typical “ghost takeout.”

Law enforcement officers visited the site for inspection. Photo source: Putuo District Market Regulation Bureau

The Putuo District Market Regulation Bureau has lawfully filed a case against this shop. Additionally, relying on an integrated online and offline coordination mechanism, relevant information was forwarded to Taobao Flash Sale, Meituan, and JD Sec-Send platforms, all of which took down the store.

Besides reports or clues from delivery riders, regulatory authorities are improving the licensing information verification interface with takeout platforms, enabling real-time updates of catering service providers’ qualification changes and cancellations to help platforms efficiently screen suspicious online merchants. The authorities will also push high-risk merchant lists to takeout platforms based on complaints, past violations, and other data, guiding platforms to focus on on-site verification of key targets and improving the efficiency of detecting “ghost takeout.”