Is it safer or is it a hidden danger?, Prefabricated dishes on campus causing controversy

Introduction: The reason why parents oppose pre made meals on campus is due to concerns about low-quality and potentially unsafe food.

Author | First Financial Publishing Book Yi Wang Zhen

The recent topic of pre made dishes entering the campus has attracted much attention, with some parents questioning the nutrition, hygiene, and other issues of pre made dishes.

First Financial reporters saw in some videos posted by parents on social media that a certain school uniformly distributes pre made dishes, among which meat dishes are semi-finished products and vegetarian dishes are washed, cut, and placed in plastic bags, and sent to the school the next day. This has been strongly opposed by the parents of the school.

Prefabricated dishes have become an important category for group meals

In recent years, many parts of the country have introduced the centralized catering model of central kitchens. Although the distribution of central kitchens does not equate to providing students with pre made meals, parents' concerns about pre made meals have reached a high point during the start of the school season.

The business manager of a large group meal enterprise told First Financial reporters that from the perspective of the entire industry, the proportion of pre made dishes in group meals is currently less than 50%, but the future trend is to increase to 70%. In campus canteens, the proportion of pre made dishes is relatively low. Although there is currently no specific data on the entry of pre made dishes into campuses in the industry, it is becoming a trend for pre made dishes to enter campuses.

Chinese food industry analyst Zhu Danpeng also believes that the entry of pre made dishes into campuses is a major trend. Prefabricated dishes have become an important category or segment in future group meals. Many pre made food companies are targeting the huge market of school group meals, but on the consumer side, parents are concerned about issues such as lack of nutrition and excessive additives in pre made food. In fact, some food safety accidents in campus canteens are closely related to operational mechanisms, operating models, and the overall quality and ethics of contractors.

During the past three years of the pandemic, pre made dishes have become a new trend in the catering industry.

Driven by capital, large and small enterprises have entered the market one after another. The pre packaged food market not only involves the food manufacturing industry, but also drives multiple consumer industries such as agriculture, catering, hotels, and retail. Pre packaged food has become a new profit point focused by major enterprises and capital. However, pre made dishes under the spotlight have also been criticized. Some people say that pre made dishes are "pig and dog food", which is "technology and ruthlessness".

According to data from iiMedia Research, the size of China's prefabricated food market was 419.6 billion yuan in 2022, a year-on-year increase of 21.3%. It is expected that the Chinese prefabricated food market will maintain a high growth rate in the future, and the size of the prefabricated food market will reach 1072 billion yuan in 2026. At present, there are still significant opportunities for segmented categories in the prefabricated food industry. But with fierce market competition, consumers have increasingly high demands for quality and taste. Prefabricated food enterprises need to continuously improve product quality and innovation capabilities to meet consumer needs and seize market opportunities.

There is much controversy over the nutrition and hygiene of pre made dishes

The reason why parents oppose pre made meals on campus is due to concerns about low-quality and potentially unsafe food.

Zhang Chunhui, Chief Scientist of the Innovation Team at the Institute of Agricultural Products Processing, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, told First Financial reporters that pre made dishes are finished and semi-finished dishes produced through industrialization and standardized processing. The pre made dishes entering the campus now mainly consist of pre made clean dishes and semi-finished dishes, rather than the commonly understood C-end ready to eat dishes. This type of dish is very rare on campus due to the high cost of ready to eat dishes, such as pre made seafood dishes and pre made meat dishes. So it is not possible to confuse semi-finished pre made clean dishes, pre made ingredients, and ready to eat dishes consumed on the C-end.

Zhang Chunhui said that prefabricated dishes have more advantages in cost control, quality control, and standardized processing of raw materials. Compared to small restaurants and home cooked meals, they have more controllable quality and cost. The production of student meals has very high requirements for serving meals, which may require serving meals to thousands of people in the school within half an hour or an hour; If we go back to the way we made and stir fried dishes decades ago, buying, cooking, washing, and cutting vegetables, this model is neither realistic nor necessary. For a company with good operational standards and strict quality control, whether it is a group meal company or a pre made food company, its products are more guaranteed in terms of quality, safety, and nutrition. It should be said that good pre made vegetable processing can better ensure food safety, rather than the opposite.

Through interviews, it was found that not only are pre made dishes on campus being questioned, but consumers' doubts about the flavor, nutrition, and safety of pre made dishes are a common problem faced by many professionals in the entire pre made food industry.

Professor Dong Ying from the School of Food Science and Technology at Jiangsu University told First Financial that the relevant business leaders of the aforementioned group meal enterprises had informed First Financial that

The prefabricated food industry is waiting for "national standards"

Because there is no unified national standard yet, pre made dishes are easily beaten to death by some consumers.

In Zhu Danpeng's view, the pain points in the current prefabricated food industry market are mainly reflected in two aspects. On the one hand, there is no "national standard", and the quality control system is basically unable to follow or rely on, which will cause hidden dangers to food safety; On the other hand, the consumer's recognition and acceptance of pre made dishes may not be high enough, and some consumers may think that the nutrition of pre made food has been lost or the ingredients are not fresh. The development of the prefabricated food industry requires policy support, industry self-discipline, and more importantly, acceptance from the consumer side. All aspects are indispensable.

A person in charge of a pre made cooking equipment supplier believes that "what is wrong is not the pre made dishes themselves, but the pre made dishes themselves are healthy and safe. What is wrong is the lack of supervision and standards, as well as the punishment for errors. It is recommended to establish various standards as soon as possible and strengthen the correct promotion and guidance of pre made dishes."

However, even if the national standard has not yet been introduced, relevant parties have begun to attach importance to the pre made food track.

At the beginning of 2023, at a press conference held by the State Council Information Office, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs proposed to expand and strengthen the agricultural product processing and circulation industry, cultivate and develop the prefabricated vegetable industry, and improve the standardization and standardization level of industries such as clean vegetables and central kitchens.

On June 25th, the General Office of the People's Government of Hunan Province issued the "Opinions on Accelerating the High Quality Development of the Pre made Vegetable Industry", which pointed out the need to build pre made vegetable processing parks, cultivate and strengthen pre made vegetable enterprises, build a pre made vegetable cold chain logistics system, and cultivate pre made vegetable industry brands.

Leave the right of choice to students and their parents

In the view of Tao Huakun, a former member of the Yuhang Education Science Research Institute in Hangzhou, whether pre made dishes enter the campus or not, consumers should fully protect their right to know and choose. According to the School Food Safety and Nutrition Health Management Regulations, students and parents have the right to know and choose pre made meals in advance, and should make a comprehensive evaluation of the long-term safety of pre made meals on campus.

Tao Huakun suggested implementing a communal dining system for principals, teachers, and students. To ensure the hygiene and safety of the school cafeteria, the school should establish strict food hygiene and safety standards and regulatory systems to ensure the hygiene and quality of pre made dishes, and clarify that the principal is the first person responsible. In addition, parent representatives can be invited to participate in supervision. Strengthen the quality control capability of the school cafeteria throughout the entire process from the source to the kitchen to the dining table, adhere to the quality standards of the dishes, and ensure that the kitchen is clear and the stove is lit, so as to reassure students and parents.

Zhang Yi, CEO and Chief Analyst of iMedia Consulting Group, also has a similar view. He believes that the way in which pre made dishes enter the campus needs to be considered, and there is no need to "turn pale at the smell of pre made dishes.". Prefabricated dishes are not allowed on campus if students do not have the right to choose. From the perspective of enriching and addressing the living needs of students, it should be a process that can be chosen, rather than a one size fits all approach.

"Of course, at a deeper level, prefabricated dishes play a role in the central kitchen of the campus, and their operational efficiency and safety supervision also need to fulfill relevant main responsibilities. Only by strengthening supervision, and the school cafeteria as a safety subject, can we provide safer, more delicious, and nutritious meals for campus teachers and students. Regardless of the method of supervision, it must be done." Zhang Yi said.