The six departments have clarified the definition and scope of prefabricated dishes: preservatives are not allowed to be added in the production process

Beijing News On March 21, six departments including the State Administration for Market Regulation issued a notice on strengthening the food safety supervision of prefabricated dishes and promoting the high-quality development of the industry. The following is the full text:

Notice on Strengthening the Food Safety Supervision of Prefabricated Dishes and Promoting the High-quality Development of the Industry

To all provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government, and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps market supervision bureaus (departments, commissions), education, industry and information technology, agriculture and rural affairs, commerce, and health departments:

In order to implement the decision-making and deployment of the Party Central Committee and the State Council on cultivating and developing the prefabricated food industry, and ensure the people's "safety on the tip of the tongue", the relevant work on strengthening food safety supervision and promoting the high-quality development of the prefabricated food industry is hereby notified as follows:

1. Standardize the scope of prefabricated dishes

Prefabricated dishes, also known as prefabricated dishes, are pre-packaged dishes made of one or more edible agricultural products and their products as raw materials, with or without the use of seasonings and other auxiliary materials, without adding preservatives, and by industrial preprocessing (such as stirring, pickling, tumbling, forming, frying, frying, roasting, boiling, steaming, etc.), with or without seasoning packages, in line with the storage, transportation and sales conditions indicated on the product label, and can only be eaten after heating or cooking, excluding staple foods, such as quick-frozen noodles and rice foods, convenience foods, box lunches, rice bowls, steamed buns, Pastries, buns, breads, burgers, sandwiches, pizzas, etc.

All relevant departments should coordinate development and safety, and urge food production and operation enterprises to engage in prefabricated vegetable production and operation activities in accordance with the requirements of prefabricated raw materials, processing technology, product range, storage and transportation, and edible methods. Vigorously promote the use of prefabricated dishes in catering to protect consumers' right to know and choose.

2. Promote the construction of a standard system for prefabricated dishes

(1) Research and formulate national food safety standards for prefabricated dishes. Coordinate the formulation of rigorous and unified standards covering the production and processing of prefabricated dishes, refrigeration and refrigeration, and cold chain logistics, and clearly standardize the food safety requirements of prefabricated dishes.

(2) Research and formulate quality standards for prefabricated dishes. Promote the development of quality standards such as terminology and product classification for prefabricated dishes, and strengthen the connection with national food safety standards. Encourage the formulation of enterprise standards and group standards including product quality, inspection methods and procedures in accordance with the law.

3. Strengthen the food safety supervision of prefabricated dishes

(1) Strictly implement entity responsibility. Supervise and urge prefabricated vegetable production and operation enterprises to establish and improve the food safety management system in accordance with the requirements of the "Regulations on the Supervision and Management of the Main Responsibility of Enterprises for Implementing Food Safety", strengthen the risk management and control of food production and operation, strictly control the quality of raw materials, inspect the commitment of edible agricultural raw materials in accordance with the law and other product quality certificates, strictly use food additives, and effectively ensure the food safety of prefabricated food products.

(2) Strengthen the management of production licenses. Revise and improve the detailed rules for the review of relevant food production licenses, and raise the entry threshold for the prefabricated food industry. Local market supervision departments should combine food raw materials, technology and other factors to implement classified licenses for prefabricated dishes, strict license review and on-site inspection, and strictly control the production license of prefabricated dishes.

(3) Increase the intensity of supervision and inspection. Focus on inspecting the implementation of quality and safety measures in the purchase inspection, production process control, storage and transportation of prefabricated vegetable production and operation enterprises, and order rectification in place to form a closed loop of supervision for the problems found in the inspection. Organize and carry out supervision and sampling of prefabricated dishes and risk monitoring, and severely crack down on violations of laws and regulations.

Fourth, coordinate and promote the high-quality development of the prefabricated food industry

(1) Enhance the ability to guarantee high-quality raw materials. Guide the production concentration area of edible agricultural products to increase the construction of high-quality agricultural product production bases and related equipment and facilities, continue to promote the construction of the "first workshop", improve the level of commercialization and standardization of edible agricultural product raw materials, guide agricultural product growers and breeders to use drugs scientifically, strictly prevent the risk of excessive pesticide and veterinary drug residues, and ensure the quality and safety of agricultural product raw materials. Encourage prefabricated vegetable production enterprises to establish cooperative relationships with farmers' cooperatives, family farms and other new agricultural business entities to ensure that the source of raw materials for edible agricultural products is stable, safe and reliable.

(2) Improve the level of research and development of key technological innovation. Encourage prefabricated food enterprises to cooperate with scientific research units to carry out research on key common technologies such as modified atmosphere preservation, precise preservation and quality control, and strive to solve the problem of flavor attenuation; innovate non-thermal processing, microbial control, microcapsule embedding, nutrition and flavor homeostasis and other technical processes to reduce the loss of nutrients and improve product quality and taste recovery; encourage prefabricated food enterprises to use new product packaging materials, reduce the use of packaging materials, improve packaging strength, and prevent excessive packaging of food.

(3) Accelerate the application of advanced production technology and equipment. Encourage the research and development of key equipment for the pretreatment of raw materials for edible agricultural products, strengthen the application of pre-processing equipment such as peeling and shelling, sorting and grading, cleaning and cutting, and improve the level of intelligent and fresh-keeping treatment of raw materials. Promote the application of advanced equipment such as processing, packaging, warehousing, and logistics to adapt to the development of prefabricated dishes, and improve the automation level of key processes and the efficiency of production and circulation.

(4) Actively create a good environment for industrial development. Support local governments to promote the construction of prefabricated vegetable industry clusters, implement centralized and unified management, and improve the effect of intensive scale. Encourage relevant industry associations, industry alliances, and so forth to strengthen the establishment of industry creditworthiness systems, promote the cultivation of prefabricated food brands, and give play to the demonstration and leading role of large-scale enterprises. Support the development of third-party evaluation activities such as the taste, quality, and nutrition of prefabricated dishes, and continuously improve consumers' sense of security and satisfaction with prefabricated dishes.

The person in charge of the relevant department of the State Administration for Market Regulation answered reporters' questions on the "Notice on Strengthening the Food Safety Supervision of Prefabricated Dishes and Promoting the High-quality Development of the Industry".

Recently, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Commerce, the National Health Commission and other departments jointly issued the "Notice on Strengthening the Food Safety Supervision of Prefabricated Dishes and Promoting the High-quality Development of the Industry" (hereinafter referred to as the "Notice"), and the responsible comrades of the relevant departments of the State Administration for Market Regulation answered questions from reporters on the relevant situation of the "Notice".

Reporter: What is the background of the formulation of the Circular?

Answer: The prefabricated food industry is an emerging food industry that has developed rapidly in recent years, showing the characteristics of deep integration and development of primary, secondary and tertiary industries, with a long industrial chain, wide correlation and high technical requirements, which has positive significance in promoting the deep processing of agricultural products, the transformation of the food industry, consumption upgrading, entrepreneurship and employment. However, prefabricated dishes are also facing problems such as generalization of scope, inconsistent standards, inconsistent scope of industrial policy support, and public worries about the addition of preservatives to prefabricated dishes, and the supervision work is facing new challenges. The "Opinions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on Comprehensively Promoting the Key Work of Rural Revitalization in 2023" proposes to cultivate and develop the prefabricated vegetable industry. The State Administration for Market Regulation and other departments have conscientiously implemented the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, and have researched and formulated the "Notice" around the development of the prefabricated food industry, public concerns and regulatory needs, aiming to further strengthen the food safety supervision of prefabricated dishes, promote the healthy development of the prefabricated food industry, and ensure the food safety of the people.

Reporter: What are the main contents of the "Circular"?

Answer: The "Notice" mainly includes four aspects. First, for the first time, the definition and scope of pre-made dishes were clarified at the national level. Vigorously promote the use of prefabricated dishes in catering to protect consumers' right to know and choose. The second is to improve the construction of the standard system of prefabricated dishes. Coordinate the formulation of rigorous and unified national food safety standards covering the production and processing of prefabricated dishes, refrigeration and refrigeration, and cold chain logistics, as well as quality standards such as prefabricated food terminology and product classification. The third is to strengthen the food safety supervision of prefabricated dishes. Strictly implement the main responsibility of enterprises and territorial supervision responsibilities, and effectively ensure the food safety of prefabricated food products. The fourth is to promote the high-quality development of the prefabricated food industry as a whole. Continuously enhance the ability to guarantee high-quality raw materials, improve the level of key technological innovation and research and development, accelerate the application of advanced production technology and equipment, and create a good environment for industrial development.

Reporter: How to understand the scope of prefabricated dishes?

Answer: Pre-made dishes are also called pre-made dishes, and their scope should have the characteristics of both pre-made and dish-based. On the one hand, highlight the characteristics of industrial preprocessing. Prefabricated dishes should have and meet the characteristics and requirements of large-scale, standardized, clean and standardized food production and processing, and better play the role of food industrialization. Enterprises producing prefabricated dishes shall obtain a food production license in accordance with the law, comply with the relevant requirements of national laws, regulations and standards on prepackaged food, and strengthen risk management and control in the whole process of purchase inspection, process control, factory inspection, storage and transportation, sales and use. Considering that chain catering enterprises widely use the central kitchen model, the clean vegetables, semi-finished products and finished dishes produced by themselves and distributed to their own stores shall comply with the laws, regulations and standards of catering food safety. Dishes prepared in the central kitchen are not included in the scope of pre-made dishes. On the other hand, highlight the attributes of the dish. Pure vegetable foods that have only been cleaned, peeled, cut and other simple processing and uncooked are edible agricultural products and do not belong to prefabricated dishes. Staple food products such as quick-frozen noodles and rice foods, convenience foods, boxed lunches, rice bowls, steamed buns, pastries, meat buns, breads, hamburgers, sandwiches, pizzas and other staple food products are not pre-made dishes. In addition, the definition emphasizes that it can only be eaten after heating or cooking. Heating refers to the process of heating food to an edible state, i.e. simply reheating a product that has been pre-processed and cooked before eating. Cooking refers to the process of cooking food by frying, frying, roasting, boiling, steaming, etc., that is, it is not fully cooked in the pre-processing stage, and it needs to be thoroughly cooked before it can be eaten. Ready-to-eat foods that can be eaten without heating or cooking, and salads such as vegetable (fruit) salads that can be eaten directly are also not considered pre-made dishes.

Reporter: What are the considerations for stipulating that preservatives are not added to preservatives?

A: First, adhere to the people-centered approach to meet consumers' higher expectations for prefabricated dishes. As the "three meals a day" of consumers, consumers are very concerned about the use of preservatives in the pursuit of fast, convenient and delicious food. Although prefabricated dishes have been industrially prefabricated, they still belong to the category of dishes, and consumers generally do not add preservatives in the cooking process of dishes, and the provision that pre-made dishes are not added to preservatives is more in line with consumer expectations. The second is to take into account the actual situation of the industry and lead the high-quality development direction of the prefabricated food industry. "Do not add food additives unless necessary" and "reduce the use of food additives in food as much as possible under the premise of achieving the expected effect" has gradually become the industry consensus. Prefabricated dishes are stored under storage conditions such as freezing and refrigeration and post-sterilization treatment processes, and there is no technical necessity for the use of preservatives. The third is to strictly abide by the bottom line of safety and meet the risk management and control requirements of prefabricated dishes. In the process of production, storage, transportation and sales, prefabricated dishes have higher requirements for environment, temperature, humidity, light, etc., and the whole chain of food safety risk control should be strengthened, and different types of prefabricated dishes should strictly meet the corresponding requirements for freezing and refrigeration to ensure food safety.

Reporter: What are the considerations for vigorously promoting the use of prefabricated dishes in catering?

Answer: Promoting the use of pre-made dishes in catering is an important measure to protect consumers' right to know and choose, and to respond to social concerns. Article 8 of the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests stipulates that consumers have the right to know the truth about the goods they purchase or use or the services they receive. At present, consumers are generally concerned about the use of prefabricated dishes in the catering sector, and expect catering businesses to publicize the use of prefabricated dishes.

Reporter: What are the main measures to strengthen the food safety supervision of prefabricated dishes?

Answer: Strictly implement the "four strictest" requirements, based on the responsibilities of market supervision, and strengthen the food safety supervision of the whole chain of prefabricated dishes.

The first is to urge enterprises to strictly implement the main responsibility of food safety. Supervise and urge enterprises to improve the food safety management system, reasonably allocate food safety directors and food safety officers, and implement the working mechanism of "daily control, weekly inspection, and monthly scheduling". Urge enterprises to strengthen the responsibility of the "first responsible person" for food safety, strengthen risk control, strictly control raw materials, and strictly use food additives to ensure the food safety of prefabricated dishes. The second is to strengthen the management of prefabricated food production licenses. Guide local market supervision departments to implement classification licenses for prefabricated dishes in combination with food raw materials, processes and other factors, strictly review licenses and on-site inspections, and strictly control the production licenses for prefabricated dishes. The third is to strengthen the supervision and inspection of prefabricated dishes. Guide local market supervision departments to focus on inspecting the purchase inspection, production process control, storage and transportation of prefabricated vegetable production and operation enterprises. Organize and carry out supervision and sampling of prefabricated dishes and risk monitoring, and severely crack down on violations of laws and regulations.

Edited by Jiani Liu