Turn off the "fresh light" and let the ingredients return to "no makeup"

Hunan Daily all-media reporter Jiang Shiyu

Correspondent Peng Jiaxuan

The farmer's market is full of all kinds of ingredients, and it is delicate. But once you buy it and get it, you will feel that something is wrong: it is not fresh and beautiful in it. In fact, it is the "fresh light" that deceives your eyes.

"Fresh lights" are lamps that can beautify the color of ingredients through specific color lighting, and were once popular in farmers' markets. The State Administration for Market Regulation stipulates that from December 1, 2023, the use of this "fresh lamp" that is easy to blind consumers' eyes will be prohibited.

What is the market's reaction to this ban? Recently, this reporter visited a number of farmers' markets in Changsha.

Before the ban: Citizens are full of anticipation

The reporter learned that the colors of the "fresh lights" used by different types of shops in the farmers' market are also different: butcher shops generally use red or pink lights, pickled vegetables and delicatessen use yellow or orange lights, and vegetable shops use green lights.

On November 28, the third day of the countdown to the ban on "fresh lights", the reporter came to the Chaoyang Farmers' Market and Jinshang Fresh Market in Changsha City.

Chaoyang Farmers' Market, which has won the title of "Best Farmers' Market" in Changsha, is located in Chaoyang Second Village, Chaoyang Street, Furong District, Changsha City, and is the largest farmers' market in the jurisdiction of Chaoyang Street, with a total market area of nearly 3,000 square meters and serving more than 30,000 surrounding residents. Currently, there are 55 storefronts and 60 stalls in the market.

At 10 o'clock in the morning, the Chaoyang Farmers' Market was crowded and lively. The reporter found that the merchants have basically not replaced the "fresh lights". Vegetable area with green leaves glowing green. The fresh meat and lo-mei area are bright red. The reporter randomly asked several shop owners, and they all said that they knew that they would change the lights, but they didn't know the specific time.

Ms. Liu, a citizen, was picking pork in front of a butcher stall, and she told reporters that when buying meat, she always took the meat to the side to compare it before buying: "I am afraid that the merchant will use the 'fresh lamp' to cover up the quality of the meat itself." Hearing that the "fresh light" would be disabled, she said a few "yes" in a row.

Jinshang Fresh Market, which is rated as one of the three "treasure vegetable markets" in Changsha by netizens, is located in Guanshaling Street, Yuelu District, Changsha City, covering an area of about 14,400 square meters, with more than 350 merchants and an average daily passenger flow of about 30,000 people, covering dozens of surrounding communities. Unlike the Chaoyang Farmers' Market, the lighting change at the Jinshang Fresh Market started relatively early, and most of the shops have been replaced with white LED lights. The reporter saw at the scene that only two shops in the meat and indoor vegetable areas still retained the "fresh lights".

The reporter found that the business in the outdoor vegetable area was significantly hotter. "I like to buy groceries outdoors because the colors of the food are most realistic in natural light, and I can tell at a glance whether they are new or not. Mr. Zhang, who was shopping for vegetables in the outdoor vegetable area, said.

Mr. Wang, a father of a 4-year-old child, said: "I once saw a study that said that light affects the hormone secretion in children's brains, and I have always suspected that 'fresh lights' will also have an effect on dishes. After hearing that there is a policy to ban "fresh lights", Mr. Wang expressed his support and looks forward to implementing it as soon as possible.

After the ban was imposed: Merchants had mixed reactions

On December 1, the ban on "fresh lights" was officially implemented.

At about 9 o'clock in the morning, the reporter followed the law enforcement officers of the Changsha Municipal Market Supervision Bureau to the Lotus Pond Farmers' Market in Kaifu District, and the white LED lights have illuminated the entire market, but in a corner of the market, the law enforcement officers found that a store called "Ningtu Tuhua Pig" was still using red "fresh lights". In this regard, the law enforcement officers issued a rectification notice on the spot and ordered rectification.

In the Chaoyang Farmers' Market, there are still some shops that have not replaced the "fresh lights". In the face of the reporter's inquiry, several operators explained that they did not change the lights in time because they did not know the standards and specifications of the lights, and they were afraid of buying the wrong ones, so they bought new lamps late, and the online lamps and lanterns had not yet arrived. Although some traders have changed their lights, they still cover their lamps with red lampshades.

"Some butchers will also play a clever trick and change the lights during the inspection, and then change the original lights when people leave. The person in charge of the market told reporters.

In the Kam Shang Fresh Market, there are more merchants who play "edge ball": they use lamps that can change color, or cover the lamps with red plastic bags, or cover the white lights with pink film, and a butcher shop has a white light hanging on the roof and a pink light strip in the freezer below......

Li Bing is one of the butcher shop owners who covers the lamp with a film. He said: "The original light can illuminate the stale meat, but the new white LED light illuminates the fresh meat!"

"The white light only shows fat, not lean meat", "The white light illuminates the flesh and the flesh is pale and loses its true color"...... Although some merchants changed the lights as required, they still complained about it. Some merchants bought their own old-fashioned tungsten lamps with warm and yellow tones, but within a few days, they were asked by the market to replace them.

There are also many butcher shop owners who are very calm: as long as the market uses lights uniformly, it will be Xi after a long time, and it will not be much different from before. Vegetable and fruit shops rely relatively little on lighting, and many operators say "it doesn't matter" when it comes to changing lights.

The relevant person in charge of the Chaoyang Farmers' Market said that the use of "fresh lights" must be prohibited, and they will urge the merchants who have not changed the lights to replace them as soon as possible. Actions such as using a lampshade do not affect the color of the food, so there is no need to adjust it.

For the problem of too white lights generally reflected by merchants, the relevant person in charge of Jinshang Fresh Market told reporters that the market will fund the purchase of a new batch of lamps and lanterns, and try to purchase lamps and lanterns that satisfy merchants under the premise of meeting policy requirements.

Management department: investigate and deal with non-compliant lighting facilities in accordance with the law

The relevant person in charge of the Food Circulation Department of the Changsha Municipal Market Supervision Bureau told reporters that the use of non-compliant lighting fixtures will be warned for the first time and ordered to rectify, and if they refuse to make corrections, they will be fined more than 5,000 yuan and less than 30,000 yuan.

Regarding the specification of lamps and lanterns reported by many merchants, Wang Qunhui explained that according to the "Architectural Lighting Design Standards", the Ra (color rendering index) of architectural lighting in supermarkets and farmers' markets should be greater than 80, and this standard value can be used as a reference basis for replacing compliant lighting fixtures. On this basis, the light used can be used as long as there is no obvious change in the color of the food with the naked eye.

The market supervision department will continue to strengthen the publicity of the new regulations, urge operators to use lighting facilities that meet the requirements, and at the same time strengthen supervision and law enforcement, investigate and deal with the use of lighting facilities that do not meet the requirements in accordance with the law, effectively maintain market order, protect and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of consumers, and protect the people's "safety on the tip of the tongue".