China released a draft national food safety standard for premade dishes on Friday, aiming to provide clearer definitions and tighten oversight of the rapidly expanding industry amid rising consumer concerns over safety and nutrition.

The draft standard, issued by the National Health Commission, is open for public feedback to protect public health and promote high-quality development in the premade meal sector.

According to the draft, ready-made meals are defined as prepackaged dishes made from one or more edible agricultural products or their processed forms, with or without seasoning, and without preservatives. These products undergo industrial preprocessing — such as mixing, marinating, molding, stir-frying, frying, baking, boiling, or steaming — and require reheating or further cooking before consumption.

Several categories are explicitly excluded from the definition, including staple foods, fresh-cut vegetables, ready-to-eat foods, and dishes produced in the central kitchen model used by chain restaurants. These products are already governed by other national food safety standards.

The new standards will strengthen controls on contaminants and food additives, setting limits on key risk factors such as lead, chromium, and pathogenic microorganisms, while strictly regulating additive use. "The use of food additives should be minimized," the draft states.

Greater emphasis will be placed on preserving nutritional quality. The draft calls for avoiding excessive cooking during processing and encourages the use of advanced technologies and equipment to retain nutrients. Producers are also urged to control the amount of cooking oil, salt, and sugar used, and to set product shelf life considering both food safety and nutritional quality.

The draft stipulates that the shelf life for prepared dishes — a category within premade meals — ? should not exceed 12 months, aiming to balance public expectations of freshness with operational realities of food producers, said experts involved in drafting the standard.

Some consumers have expressed concerns over shelf life, questioning labels indicating unusually long storage periods, which are "mentally hard to accept". To address this, the draft includes specific provisions on shelf life requirements for premade dishes, which is uncommon in previous food safety rules, they said.

To ensure safe consumption, the draft requires clear labeling on whether products are fully cooked, partially cooked, or uncooked, along with specific preparation instructions. This requirement aims to prevent food-borne illnesses caused by insufficient heating and to avoid quality and nutrition loss due to overcooking.

The standard for premade dishes has drawn widespread public attention after a public debate between Xibei, a well-known Chinese catering brand, and Luo Yonghao, a livestreaming influencer, over the labeling, transparency, and quality of ready-made meals. The controversy amplified consumer concerns about the identification and regulation of such foods.

zhaoyimeng@chinadaily.com.cn