I’m a fan of apps and the Internet disrupting business models – like Uber and airbnb have – but when it comes to food I like to have folks playing by the same rules. Online food sales can be a bit dicey.

This article from gbtimes has it all: meat of unknown origin. Questionable slaughter practices. Online food sales. Dog meat, cat meat, shark fins and bear pile (something may be lost in translation or is it pie? I can’t find anything on what this is).

Chinese food delivery app Ele.me has decided to remove foods containing dog meat and shark fins from its menu options, saying that the move was based on food safety and animal protection considerations.

The Alibaba-backed startup announced on Wednesday that it has removed 294 merchants selling dog meat products and deleted 7,733 meals containing dog meat from its mobile app platform during the last three days.

Ele.me said in a statement published on its Weibo account that it was not taking sides in the debate over whether dog meat was morally acceptable but was concerned about the food safety issues it poses to consumers.

“There are currently no regulations concerning dog meat slaughter and quarantine system in China, so most of the dog meat in the market comes from unknown origins,” the Shanghai-based company said.

“In the absence of quarantine, dog meat can carry parasites, rabies, viruses and other deadly pests, so there is a large food safety risk. This prompted us to make the final decision.”

Ele.me added that following the same logic, the company plans to remove foods containing shark fins, bear paws, bear pile, cat meat, snake meat and other potentially unsafe foods from its platform too.