To implement the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee and the State Council on cultivating and developing the prepared dishes industry, the State Administration for Market Regulation, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Ministry of Commerce, and National Health Commission jointly issued the "Notice on Strengthening Food Safety Supervision of Prepared Dishes and Promoting High-Quality Development of the Industry" (hereinafter referred to as the "Notice"), aiming to strengthen food safety supervision of prepared dishes, promote healthy development of the prepared dishes industry, and ensure food safety for the people.
The "Notice" focuses on four aspects: scope of prepared dishes, standard system construction, food safety supervision, and promoting high-quality development of the industry. First, it clarifies the scope of prepared dishes at the national level for the first time, defining raw and auxiliary materials, pre-processing techniques, storage, transportation and sales requirements, consumption methods, and product scope. It also promotes clear labeling of prepared dishes in catering to protect consumers' right to know and choose. Second, it advances the construction of the prepared dishes standard system by researching and formulating national food safety standards covering production, processing, refrigeration, freezing, and cold chain logistics, specifying food safety requirements. It promotes the development of terminology and product classification quality standards for prepared dishes. Third, it strengthens food safety supervision by urging enterprises to strictly fulfill their main responsibilities, establish sound food safety management systems, enhance risk control, strictly control raw material quality, and regulate food additive use. Market supervision departments are required to strictly control production licensing, intensify supervision and inspection of key links, conduct sampling inspections and risk monitoring, and severely crack down on illegal activities. Fourth, it coordinates the promotion of high-quality development of the prepared dishes industry by enhancing the capacity to secure high-quality raw materials, ensuring the quality and safety of agricultural raw materials, improving key technology innovation and R&D, encouraging the development of key common technologies, accelerating the application of advanced production processes and equipment, improving automation and production circulation efficiency, and actively creating a favorable industrial development environment to support local construction of prepared dishes industry clusters.
Notice on Strengthening Food Safety Supervision of Prepared Dishes and Promoting High-Quality Development of the Industry
Market supervision bureaus (departments, commissions), education, industry and information technology, agriculture and rural affairs, commerce, and health authorities of all provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government, and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps:
To implement the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee and the State Council on cultivating and developing the prepared dishes industry and to ensure the "safety on the tip of the tongue" for the people, the following notice is issued regarding strengthening food safety supervision and promoting high-quality development of the prepared dishes industry:
I. Standardize the Scope of Prepared Dishes
Prepared dishes, also called pre-prepared dishes, are pre-packaged dishes made from one or more edible agricultural products and their processed products as raw materials, with or without seasonings and other auxiliary materials, without adding preservatives, processed industrially (such as mixing, marinating, tumbling, shaping, frying, deep-frying, roasting, boiling, steaming, etc.), with or without seasoning packets, meeting the storage, transportation, and sales conditions indicated on the product label, and can only be eaten after heating or cooking. They do not include staple foods such as frozen noodles and rice products, convenience foods, boxed meals, rice with toppings, steamed buns, pastries, roujiamo (Chinese hamburger), bread, hamburgers, sandwiches, pizza, etc.
Relevant departments should coordinate development and safety, urging food production and operation enterprises to engage in prepared dishes production and operation activities according to requirements for raw and auxiliary materials, processing technology, product scope, storage and transportation, and consumption methods. Vigorously promote clear labeling of prepared dishes in catering to protect consumers' right to know and choose.
II. Promote the Construction of the Prepared Dishes Standard System
(1) Research and formulate national food safety standards for prepared dishes. Coordinate the formulation of rigorous and unified standards covering production, processing, refrigeration, freezing, and cold chain logistics of prepared dishes, clearly specifying food safety requirements.
(2) Research and formulate quality standards for prepared dishes. Promote the development of terminology, product classification, and other quality standards for prepared dishes, strengthening the connection with national food safety standards. Encourage the lawful formulation of enterprise and group standards including product quality, testing methods, and procedures.
III. Strengthen Food Safety Supervision of Prepared Dishes
(1) Strictly implement main responsibilities. Urge prepared dishes production and operation enterprises to establish and improve food safety management systems according to the "Supervision and Management Regulations on Enterprises Fulfilling Food Safety Main Responsibilities," strengthen risk control in food production and operation, strictly control raw material quality, legally verify product quality certificates such as commitment compliance certificates for edible agricultural product raw materials, strictly regulate food additive use, and effectively ensure the food safety of prepared dishes products.
(2) Strengthen production licensing management. Revise and improve relevant food production licensing review rules to raise the entry threshold for the prepared dishes industry. Local market supervision departments should implement classified licensing for prepared dishes based on food raw materials, processes, and other factors, strictly review licenses and conduct on-site inspections, and strictly control the production licensing gate for prepared dishes.
(3) Increase supervision and inspection efforts. Focus on inspecting the implementation of quality and safety measures in procurement inspection, production process control, storage, and transportation by prepared dishes production and operation enterprises. Problems found during inspections must be rectified promptly to form a closed-loop supervision. Organize sampling inspections and risk monitoring of prepared dishes, and severely crack down on illegal activities.
IV. Coordinate the Promotion of High-Quality Development of the Prepared Dishes Industry
(1) Enhance the capacity to secure high-quality raw materials. Guide concentrated production areas of edible agricultural product raw materials to increase investment in high-quality agricultural product production bases and related equipment and facilities, continuously promote the construction of the "first workshop," and improve the commercialization and standardization level of edible agricultural product raw materials; guide farmers and breeders to use medicines scientifically, strictly prevent risks of pesticide and veterinary drug residue exceeding standards, and ensure the quality and safety of agricultural raw materials. Encourage prepared dishes production enterprises to establish cooperative relationships with new agricultural business entities such as farmer cooperatives and family farms to ensure stable, safe, and reliable sources of edible agricultural product raw materials.
(2) Improve the level of key technology innovation and R&D. Encourage prepared dishes enterprises to collaborate with research institutions to conduct research on key common technologies such as modified atmosphere preservation, precise preservation, and quality control, focusing on solving flavor degradation problems; innovate technologies and processes such as non-thermal processing, microbial control, microencapsulation embedding, and nutrition and flavor stabilization to reduce nutrient loss and improve product quality and flavor restoration; encourage prepared dishes enterprises to use new packaging materials to reduce packaging material usage, enhance packaging strength, and prevent excessive food packaging.
(3) Accelerate the application of advanced production process equipment. Encourage the research and development of key equipment for the pretreatment of edible agricultural raw materials, strengthen the application of preprocessing equipment such as peeling, shelling, sorting and grading, washing, and cutting, and improve the level of intelligent and fresh-keeping treatment of raw materials. Promote the application of advanced equipment for processing, packaging, storage, and logistics that adapt to the development of prepared dishes, enhancing the automation level of key processes and the efficiency of production and circulation.
(4) Actively create a favorable industrial development environment. Support localities in promoting the construction of prepared dish industry clusters, implement centralized and unified management, and improve the effects of intensive and large-scale operations. Encourage relevant industry associations, industrial alliances, and others to strengthen the construction of industry integrity systems, promote the cultivation of prepared dish brands, and leverage the demonstration and leading role of large-scale enterprises. Support third-party evaluation activities on the taste, quality, and nutrition of prepared dishes to continuously enhance consumers' sense of safety and satisfaction with prepared dishes.
State Administration for Market Regulation
Ministry of Education
Ministry of Industry and Information Technology
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs
Ministry of Commerce
National Health Commission
March 18, 2024
