Bakery Chain In Shanghai Fined For Maintaining Business During Mass Lockdown

On September 2, a store of a bakery chain called Paris Baguette in Shanghai was accused of violating food safety laws during the pandemic mass lockdowns. The store was fined almost $85,000 (585,000 yuan) by Shanghai Pudong Market Superintend Management Bureau.

Paris Baguette is a brand originally from South Korea; since entering Communist China in 2004, the company has opened more than 130 stores in Shanghai.

During the pandemic mass lockdown in Shanghai in April, Paris Baguette obtained an operation license as a guaranteeing market supply enterprise. However, as its factory with the operation license at 759 Jinglian Road (景联路) was in lockdown, some of the staffs went to its training center at 100 Old Hongjing Road (老虹井路) and stayed in quarantine. The training center was fully equipped with baking equipment and raw materials for production and maintaining the supplies. The bakery staff in quarantine made pastries for themselves at the training center. However, as the lockdowns continued, the demand for pastries from residents in nearby neighborhoods grew very high.

On April 23, the bakery staff started to make pastries and sell them to communities in group purchases. In total the bakery’s training center produced 400 group-buy packages, and each package priced from $18 to $25 (125 to 170 yuan). By the time on Apr 26th, the day they received the notice from Shanghai Pudong Market Superintend Management Bureau (Shanghai Market Bureau), the bakery’s training center has sold a total of almost $85,000 (58,500 yuan) of pastries.

In August, Shanghai Market Bureau confiscated the total revenue of $8,500 (58,500 yuan) as well as the production equipment, and also fined the company a fine of ten times the value of the sold goods.

The news has raised public criticism and concerns on the internet in Communist China. The public believes the bakery maintained the business and critical living supplies to the people during the mass lockdown, which shows the company is more conscientious than many others that have been exposed for selling rotten food. Yet none of those businesses were punished or investigated.

On September 3, the Shanghai Market Bureau responded to the public through a statement saying that Paris Baguette could file an objection to rebut the government’s punishment.