Context: for the first time, Beijing has put out a draft national food safety standard for ready meals. It draws a clear line around what counts, and cuts out staples, washed veg, ready-to-eat food and central-kitchen meals. It also sets tougher safety and nutrition rules than those for most foods. The aim is to steer the sector away from pure scale and towards better quality, and to answer public doubts about safety and health.
The draft defines ready meals as pre-packed meals made from farm produce, with no preservatives, that go through factory pre-processing and must be heated or cooked before you eat them. It also says what does not count. Staples, washed veg, ready-to-eat food and central-kitchen meals sit outside the scope. Zhang Dequan 张德权, head of the urban agriculture institute at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, says the draft draws a sound line around both the term and what it covers. It helps settle the basic point of “what is a ready meals”, and makes the rules more workable. He adds that the draft also meets a real public need and can help the public read the sector in a clearer way.
On safety, the draft sets a higher bar than for most foods. It bans preservatives, and asks firms to cut back other food additives as far as they can. Yang Xiaoming 杨晓明, a division head at the China National Centre for Food Industry Management, says the draft sets stricter rules than standard food safety rules on additives, pollutants and shelf life. In his view, it aims at high-quality growth and will guide the sector towards more sound and safer growth.
The draft also puts weight on nutrition, not just safety. It calls for up-to-date tech to cut nutrient loss during processing. It also backs steps to rein in oil, salt and sugar. This tracks a clear shift in demand, as more buyers look for healthier food. It also pushes firms to move from taste-first design to nutrition-led design, and points the way for product upgrades.
Overall, the draft answers wide concerns about both safety and nutrition in ready meals. By setting one clear rule set, it can lift trust for buyers and give firms clear steps to follow in making and labelling goods. Many in the trade think the standard will move the sector from fast growth to rule-led growth, and help build a healthier and long-term market.