Joining the ranks of “local specialties” faces issues such as food restoration, transportation and safety.
Pre-prepared dishes must pass the safety barrier before being served on the New Year’s Eve dinner table
□ Our reporter Zhao Li
□ Ding Yi, trainee reporter of this newspaper
Imagine, roast duck, Buddha jumping over the wall, pepper and sesame chicken, kung pao chicken, fish-flavored shredded pork... a sumptuous and delicious New Year's Eve dinner was served in 20 minutes. As the Spring Festival approaches, prepared dishes that focus on efficiency and convenience have once again attracted attention.
According to the "2023 Chinese New Year Gift Box Consumer Behavior Insight Report" released by iiMedia Consulting, pre-made dishes have become one of the top ten choices for Chinese consumers' New Year gift boxes for the first time. 26.91% of the surveyed users choose to buy pre-made dishes as New Year's goods. Pre-made dishes The dish has become one of the “local specialties”.
Experts interviewed by reporters from the "Rule of Law Daily" believe that the market performance of prepared dishes for this year's New Year's Eve dinner will be greatly improved. This also means that my country's prepared vegetable market has entered a stage of booming production and sales. However, prepared dishes are still facing food restoration. degree, transportation and safety issues.
Variety of prepared dishes
Popular with consumers
Recently, an employee of the large chain Chaowmart told reporters that the sales of prepared vegetable products in his store had increased by 15% year-on-year last week. Walking into the supermarket, the reporter saw pre-made products such as pickled fish, braised pork, braised pork with pickled vegetables, and spicy crayfish. Roughly speaking, there were nearly 20 brands. The sales staff revealed that "these pre-made dishes have been put on the shelves recently. As the Spring Festival approaches, the stocking volume has increased and sales have gradually increased."
According to public information, many well-known catering brands familiar to consumers have also joined the ranks of pre-made New Year’s Eve dinners, such as Quanjude, Dadong, and Xibei Noodle Village in Beijing, Heyuan Restaurant in Guangzhou, Songhelou in Suzhou, and Jinzhou in Shanghai. Master etc.
In addition to offline supermarkets, open Tmall online and search for "pre-made dishes for high-end home New Year's Eve dinner". There are as many as 4,254 items in the category, with prices ranging from tens to thousands of yuan. Stores with high sales have already received more than 2,000 confirmations. goods; search for "pre-made New Year's Eve dinner" on JD.com, and there are more than 2,800 items in the category, with the top sales reaching tens of thousands...
On emerging channels such as Xiaohongshu Mall and Douyin Mall, prepared dishes are also favored by consumers. Xiaohongshu Mall shows that a ready-to-eat meatball called Little Lion Head has been purchased by thousands of people, and Ma Liuji’s pork belly and chicken pre-made dishes have been sold over a thousand orders. Douyin statistics show that as many as 60% of consumers choose pre-made dish products in the price range of 27 yuan to 93 yuan. At the same time, most of the prepared dishes with sales volume of more than 1 million pieces have the characteristics of low unit price and ready-to-heat and fried. For example, more than 1 million pieces of sauerkraut fish for 79.9 yuan have been sold; Buddha Tiaoqiang, which sells for thousands of yuan in brand restaurants, is also marketed as "people-friendly" on Douyin Mall. More than 400,000 pieces of Buddha Tiaoqiang, 6 cans of 99.9 yuan, have been sold. The pork belly chicken (600g) has been sold for more than 300,000 yuan.
Incorrect goods still exist
Safety hazards have not been eliminated
Although prepared dishes are “increasingly popular”, consumers’ concerns about whether prepared dishes are healthy and safe have not been eliminated.
The 2023 Consumer Complaints and Consumer Rights Protection Public Opinion Analysis Report released by the Jiangsu Provincial Consumer Rights Protection Committee shows that the consumption of prepared dishes continues to be controversial, ranking first in consumer rights protection public opinion. Judging from the content of complaints and public opinion monitoring, the relevant problems are mainly concentrated in several aspects, including that the prepared dishes are not consistent with the promotion, taste bad and have food safety issues, and the information on the labels of the prepared dishes is incomplete, causing consumers to worry.
Ms. Wang, a Chongqing citizen, described a recent experience of unpacking prepared dishes as "stepping on thunder". In the spirit of trying dishes for New Year's Eve, Ms. Wang purchased a box of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall pre-made dishes on a certain platform. When she got it, the packaging was intact and the antique-colored box looked nice, but the experience of eating it greatly dampened her impression of the product. “It was almost full of mushrooms, with only a very small abalone and a scallop. Three very small sea cucumbers, the taste is not rich, and there is no amazing and value-for-money feeling. I will not buy it again."
Ms. Tao, a citizen of Guangzhou, encountered a "leaky" Buddha jumping over the wall. Not long ago, Ms. Tao purchased a certain brand of Buddha Jumping Over the Wall. The packaging stated that it needed to be frozen at minus 18 degrees Celsius. The express cold chain was sent from Shanghai to Guangzhou. After receiving the goods, the ice bag was still cold, but the vacuum bag had air in it. " I reported it to customer service, but they refused to reissue it and asked me to file a claim with the courier company."
During the interview, some consumers questioned that the shelf life of prepared dishes is generally 6 months to 12 months. How much preservatives should be put in them?
Ms. Li, a citizen of Wuhu, Anhui Province, recently purchased a "Internet celebrity" pre-made pickled fish. After receiving the goods, she found that "there were not many fish fillets and a lot of additives." According to the picture of the product packaging she provided, the reporter saw that the ingredient list included sodium tripolyphosphate, sodium pyrophosphate, sodium citrate, citric acid, lactic acid, sodium alginate, disodium nucleotide, sodium metabisulfite, etc. 10 kinds of food additives.
In order to dispel consumers' doubts, some merchants have made it clear that their prepared dishes "do not add preservatives, thickeners, or pigments." However, many prepared dish products do not clearly indicate whether they contain preservatives.
Quanjude Mall customer service staff told reporters that generally freshly made food does not have preservatives, but if it is a product with a longer shelf life, some preservatives will definitely be added to ensure that the ingredients can be eaten within the period.
Regarding the additive standards, the reporter consulted Tongqinglou customer service staff, who told the reporter that in order to achieve the purpose of locking in water, some additives will be added, but they are all in accordance with national food safety standards. "The reason why products can be stored for 6 months is mainly due to freezing conditions. If they are deheated, they will deteriorate."
The reporter noticed that on the product details pages of each platform, in addition to the basic introduction of the product, such as gift box contents, net content, and eating methods, most merchants did not clearly indicate the transportation and storage methods, shelf life, production date, and ingredient list on the page. and other information. Only when reporters make further inquiries will more detailed information about the products be obtained.
"It was only after I got it that I discovered that it was simply a 'hodgepodge of additives'. If I had known this was the case, I would never have bought it," Ms. Li said.
In addition, the reporter asked the customer service of merchants on several platforms about transportation and storage issues. The other party replied that frozen fresh products will be delivered by express cold chain, and emphasized that they need to be stored in the refrigerator in time after receipt. The shelf life varies depending on the dishes. The difference generally ranges from a few days to 365 days.
The owner of a restaurant in Beijing that specializes in lobster, Sichuan and Hunan cuisine, and barbecue believes that there are now many types of pre-prepared dishes. Except for big-brand restaurants, it is more difficult to supervise the safety and hygiene of pre-prepared dishes produced by small and medium-sized restaurants, mainly due to the cost of maintaining quality and freshness. relatively high.
Zhu Danpeng, vice president of the Guangdong Provincial Food Safety Promotion Association, believes that with the current domestic preservation technology and cold chain technology, it is possible to achieve long-term freshness and quality preservation of prepared vegetable products, but now there are many manufacturers of prepared dishes, and some have professional expertise. There are semi-professional listed companies and non-professional listed companies, which need to be distinguished.
Set standards for prepared dishes
Let consumers eat with confidence
In order to further ensure the safety and health of prepared dishes, regulatory authorities are also working hard to formulate product specifications for prepared dishes.
It is understood that the national standard submission for prepared dishes has been submitted recently. The document provides a clearer definition of prepared dishes, and also puts forward rigid requirements such as prohibiting the addition of preservatives and requiring cold chain transportation.
Before the submission of the national standard for prepared dishes, as the scale of the prepared dish industry continues to expand, a variety of related standards of different levels and types have emerged. According to the National Standards Information Public Service Platform, as of June 29, 2023, there are 135 current standards related to prepared dishes across the country, including 8 local standards, 90 group standards, and 37 enterprise standards, which mainly include prepared dish terms, definitions, Classification, quality requirements management specifications, cold chain transportation standards and industrial park construction standards, etc.
According to many industry insiders, although my country's prepared vegetable industry has been developing for many years, the industry has been facing a lot of negative public opinion due to unclear definitions, a mixed bag of companies entering the industry, and the lack of unified national standards. The prepared food industry extends finished and semi-finished dishes from restaurants to daily family dining tables. It has broad prospects from the perspective of the overall environment. However, if the industry wants to develop in the long term, it must pass quality and safety standards.
According to Zhu Yi, an associate professor at the School of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering at China Agricultural University, the safety hazards of prepared dishes mainly come from three aspects: First, the issue of corporate qualifications. Some prepared dish merchants have incomplete or even no qualifications and process prepared dishes in the kitchen. The equipment is not up to standard, and raw and cooked food are not separated, which poses a huge safety hazard; second, there are storage risks. After consumers receive the prepared dishes, they should quickly sort them into categories, distinguishing between frozen, refrigerated, etc.; third, some prepared dishes have incomplete information, ingredient lists, production Date, shelf life, storage conditions and other information should be clearly marked.
"Regarding the safety hazards of prepared dishes, many people pay attention to the storage and transportation of food, but ignore the source of the raw materials of prepared dishes. The freshness and safety of the ingredients of prepared dishes need to be paid attention to," Zhu Yi said.
Regarding the safety hazards faced by prepared dishes, Zhou Qingjie, executive director of the New Business and Economics Research Institute of Beijing Technology and Business University, believes that we must first consider whether the processing process meets food safety requirements, including the freshness of raw materials, the dosage of food additives during processing; during transportation The cold chain link is also crucial. Temperature must be controlled and damage during transportation must be paid attention to.
Sun Juanjuan, an associate researcher at the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Hebei Agricultural University, told reporters that the difficulty with standards for prepared dishes is that the richness and speed of research and development of prepared dishes require a cautious and inclusive regulatory response from regulators. "Currently, measures for the supervision and management of food entrusted production are being formulated, and their food safety-related requirements also apply to the field of prepared dishes."
In Sun Juanjuan's view, in addition to improving consumers' correct understanding of prepared vegetable ingredients and food additives through consensus definitions of prepared dishes and food safety communication, the unification of standards can also standardize practitioners and practitioners from the material use, production and transportation processes. Behavioral choices related to food safety.
"The above two highlights of the national standard submission for prepared dishes are two very important points in the preservation process of prepared dishes. However, many companies are still unable to achieve the two aspects of 'no added preservatives and cold chain transportation' of prepared dishes. No. Adding preservatives is a guarantee of health, and cold chain transportation is a guarantee of storage time. If cold chain transportation is achieved, prepared dishes without adding preservatives can be stored for a longer period of time. If these two points are achieved, the quality of the prepared dishes The storage time and health level will be more friendly," said Sun Juanjuan.
Zhu Yi believes that the key point of pre-made dishes is "preparation". Compared with ordinary dishes, pre-made dishes are more convenient and faster due to the "pre-made" production process, but there is a certain gap between them and freshly made dishes in terms of taste. To distinguish between prepared dishes, you should not only look at the presentation of the dishes, but also think about the way you usually eat them. "Preparation" in the production process will cause the taste of the dishes to be reduced. Merchants must respect consumers' right to know and choose, and inform consumers of the fact that they are pre-made. "Play 'concept' puzzles, call pre-made dishes semi-finished products, or even call them semi-finished products." Pre-made products are of better quality and are deceiving consumers.”
"When formulating standards for prepared dishes, companies need to be self-disciplined first. They cannot rely solely on the state to set mandatory standards. Companies should first achieve 'no added preservatives and cold chain transportation.'" Zhu Yi said.
"From the existing concerns, the food safety concerns of prepared dishes are not only related to the material and process safety of their processing and production, but also related to the consumption scenarios." Sun Juanjuan said that when regulating the industry through standards, regulators, on the one hand, It is necessary to consider how the original product standards, general standards, and production and operation standards are connected with prepared dishes. On the other hand, the industry's own characteristics and market-oriented standard supply must also be considered. (Legal Daily)