Ordinary food must not claim to treat disease—labels, instructions, ads, and live-stream scripts count

Labels, instructions, and ads for ordinary food must not claim disease prevention or treatment. Except medical, drug, and medical-device ads, no other ad may claim treatment or use medical-sounding words. Penalty: 1–3 times ad spend; if spend can't be figured, 100000–200000 yuan. Serious cases can revoke the business license.

Cost

No money. Review ad copy, product detail pages, and live-stream scripts. The hard part is not saying «lower the three highs» or «treat constipation».

Benefit

Food Safety Law: «Labels and instructions for food and food additives must not contain false content and must not involve disease prevention or treatment functions. Producers and operators are responsible for the content of labels and instructions they provide.» «Food advertising shall be true and lawful, must not contain false content, and must not involve disease prevention or treatment functions. Food producers and operators are responsible for the truth and legality of food ad content.» Packaging, instructions, and ads can't claim prevention or cure; sellers answer for what they write. False or misleading food ads are penalized under the Advertising Law. The Advertising Law also bans: «Except medical, drug, and medical device advertising, no other advertising may involve disease treatment functions, and must not use medical terms or terms that easily confuse the promoted goods with drugs or medical devices.» Except those three ad categories, no ad may claim treatment or use drug- or device-sounding words. Violations: stop the ad; the advertiser must publicly clarify and remove impact in the scope where it ran; fine 1–3 times ad fees. If fees can't be calculated or are clearly understated: 100000–200000 yuan. Serious: 3–5 times fees, or 200000–1000000 yuan; the business license may also be revoked (nationwide).

Notes

«Health functions» aren't for ordinary food either. Health functions health foods may claim come only from the national catalog, and the product must be registered or filed—ordinary food has no such path. How buyers spot such language: section 6, item 10. Beyond packaging and ads, detail pages, live-stream scripts, and Moments copy count as ad content too; once posted they leave a trail.

Sources · 2

1. 全国人大常委会 (2025 年第三次修正). 食品安全法（第七十一、七十三、一百二十五、一百四十条）. flk.npc.gov.cn/detail?id=7b5a76d0461745a08d3f…
2. 全国人大常委会 (2021 年修正). 广告法（第十七、五十八条）. flk.npc.gov.cn/detail?id=ff8081817ab231eb017a…