Restaurant prefabricated dishes need to be clearly stated, and the draft national standard has been reviewed and will be publicly solicited for comments

On September 13, the draft of the "National Standard for Food Safety of Prefabricated Vegetables" led by the National Health and Health Commission has passed the review and will soon be open to the public for comments. At that time, there will be a unified statement on the "identity" of prefabricated dishes, and whether and how to use prefabricated dishes in catering stores will also be included in the scope of mandatory information disclosure for the first time. "The standard is mainly to stipulate the definition and food safety index requirements." According to an expert who participated in the drafting, the draft makes unified provisions on the classification, raw materials, processing technology, storage and transportation and inspection methods of prefabricated dishes, and proposes mandatory indicators such as "no preservatives added" for the first time. Compared with the current 141 group and local standards, the national standard provisions focus more on the "safety bottom line" and provide a direct basis for supervision and law enforcement. According to industry estimates, prefabricated dishes are expected to strengthen the requirements for "preservative ban + cold chain upgrade", which are expected to push up costs by 15% to 30%. Experts say that if small and medium-sized factories cannot afford the cost of transformation, they may be acquired or withdrawn within two years after the national standard takes effect, and the top brands are expected to further expand the market share through the scale effect.