CHONGQING – Eateries in south-western Chongqing will soon have to let their customers know how their dishes are prepared, including the ingredients used, right down to the exact parts of the livestock.
They will also have to disclose whether their dishes contain pre-cooked items, and describe flavour profiles and portion sizes. Pre-cooked items include ready-to-eat meals that need only quick reheating before consumption.
The new industry standards, the first of their kind in China, are aimed at improving food safety standards and protecting consumers’ rights, according to an official statement on the Chongqing municipality government website on Oct 19.
The city’s authorities are working to ensure that the industry will keep to the fresh guidelines by contacting restaurants and eateries to help them compile the information. New information will be included in physical menus and online delivery platforms in time, the statement added. No date has yet been given for the implementation of the new guidelines.
The Chongqing authorities said the guidelines will stop cooks from using prohibited ingredients, such as lymphatic meat in place of pork belly.
Lymphatic meat, which contains fatty tumours, thyroid glands and lymph nodes, is considered in China to be a cheap, low-quality meat. Restaurants in the country have reportedly replaced pork belly, which is more expensive, with lymphatic meat.
Diners are “increasingly focused on the ‘wok taste’ of dishes and are particularly concerned about whether the food is cooked on-site”, the authorities said in the statement.
“Clearly indicating key information such as food preparation methods and whether pre-prepared dishes are used helps ensure consumer rights,” they added.
Chongqing’s move is part of a nationwide effort to double down on food safety standards as the central government promotes the food and beverage (F&B) sector amid overall soft domestic demand.
F&B has been a bright spot in China’s slowing economy, with the sector’s revenue growing 6.2 per cent to 3.94 trillion yuan (S$728 billion) in the first nine months of 2024, compared with the same period in 2023.
Across China, local officials are clamping down on food safety violations through measures such as increased enforcement and even by roping in delivery riders as whistle-blowers.
In Beijing’s Dongcheng district, a two-week sting operation that ended on Oct 30 uncovered 13 cases of restaurateurs selling spoilt food, poorly disinfected utensils and cross-contamination between raw and cooked food.
In the Guangxi autonomous region in south-western China, checks are being conducted on “all food production and business entities in the region” in an inspection campaign until the end of 2024, said the authorities there.
