iiMedia Consulting data shows that in 2023, among Chinese netizens' understanding of prefabricated dishes, 4219% of consumers choose to know very well, 5474% of consumers choose to know better, 307% of consumers choose not to know at all.
How well Chinese netizens know about pre-made dishes in 2023.
The term "prefabricated dishes" frequently appears in the public eye, probably from the first events such as "takeaway cooking packages" and "prefabricated dishes entering the campus" in the past two years.
In January last year, the first document mentioned that "cultivating and developing the prefabricated food industry" was the first time that the term "prefabricated food" appeared in the official red-headed document, and many people therefore believed that this was a new type of industry; As a hot topic of "black and red" in the catering industry, prefabricated dishes are unsafe, unhealthy, and have a single taste.
First, the complex ingredient list and other controversies are endless.
The act of "boycotting pre-made dishes" reflects the public's concerns and dissatisfaction with pre-made dishes. Today, we will face the six truths of pre-made dishes.
Pre-made dishes are not a new industry
Pre-made dishes have been developed in recent yearsNew forms of business in the food field, but not all of themNew industries。The "prefabricated food" in the industry refers to the food and beverage industry, the sub-industry of the food processing industry - "pre-processed food", which is a typical integrated development industry of primary, secondary and tertiary industries in the industrial chain. In China, the development of the prepared food industry has gone through many stages.
The domestic prefabricated food industryIt started with the net vegetable distribution of the eraAt the same time, as McDonald's and other fast food restaurants entered the country, processed food factories began to appear as the first merchants, and most of these factories later developed into independent prefabricated food processing enterprises.
Around 2000, the development of the cold chain industry began to appear prefabricated food enterprises with deep processing of semi-finished dishes, such as Wen's Food, Guolian Aquatic Products, etc., which processed raw materials such as poultry meat and aquatic products on the basis of clean vegetables, and some brands that produced Chinese food packages, such as Haodelai and Xincong Kitchen, and some time-honored catering enterprises (Xinya Cantonese Restaurant, Quanjude, etc.) also launched special prefabricated dishesAt that time, the market size was small and mainly concentrated in the B-end, the general consumer understanding is still shallow.
In the past ten years since the turn of the millennium, the scale of the prefabricated food industry has expanded rapidly and the market competition has become increasingly fierceA variety of pre-processed foods have emergedSynear Food, Sanquan Food, etc. have become well-known brandsThere are also some companies that increase their market share and competitiveness through mergers and acquisitions, restructuring and other means (such as Anjing Food, which mainly focuses on hot pot ingredients and flour and rice products).
After 2013, pre-made food retail stores (such as Weiku seafood, looking for ingredients) began to appear, in 2014The emergence of takeaway platforms has prompted the B-end of prefabricated dishes to enter a period of mass production, which has accelerated the expansion of the market size of the cooking kit.
After the epidemic, the demand for C-end retail of prefabricated dishes has surgedThe fragrance of Weizhi, the central kitchen of Qianwei, etc., have gone to thousands of households, many catering businesses also take advantage of the trendPre-made Chinese New Year's Eve lunch gift box, related topics are hot.
Dumplings, glutinous rice balls, ham, canned food, instant noodles, frozen surimi, hot pot products, sauce packets, ......Pre-made dishesIt has long been closely related to our lives, and currently about 85% of the products ** to the B-endIn recent years, supermarket retail companies such as Freshippo, FamilyMart, and Yonghui have deployed prefabricated dishes, playing an important role in cultivating the C-end market.
If the national standards are incomplete, does it mean that it is unsafe?- Not exactly
The formulation of industry standards should keep up with market developments, and with the growth of market demand and technological progress, enterprises and products in the industry are also emerging and changing, which makes it challenging to develop unified national standards.
It is a misconception that the lack of national unified standards is equivalent to food insecurity. The concept of prefabricated dishes being divided into four categories: ready-to-eat, ready-to-heat, ready-to-cook, ready-to-serve dishes or staple food is the group standard of the "Prefabricated Food Product Specification" of the China Prefabricated Food Association, which is relatively broad, from the perspective of consumersWhen we face the shelves, most of the pre-made dishes are distributed in these six categories
1.Compound seasonings such as teriyaki sauce, fish-flavored shredded pork juice, all-purpose cooking packets, soup packets, etc., apply the current standards such as "Liquid Compound Seasoning" (SB T 10415) and "Solid Compound Seasoning" (SB T 10371);
2.Raw cut foodOriginal cut fresh food, such as original cut steak and original cut fat beef roll, implement GB T 17238 standard, GB2707 health standard for fresh (frozen) meat, etc.
3.In addition to the relevant rules of GB T36187-2018 "Frozen Surimi", there is also ISO 23855:2021, which is the first international standard in the field of aquatic products presided over by China.
4.Quick-frozen noodles and prepared foods can be said to be the first major category of prefabricated vegetable products today, which is very detailed and specified in GB19295-2021 "National Food Safety Standard Quick-frozen Noodles and Prepared Foods".
5.Quick-frozen prepared food implements SB T10379-2012 regulations, and processed foods with grains, beans, potatoes, livestock and poultry meat, aquatic products, fruits and vegetables, edible fungi and other main raw materials belong to this category. Raw or cooked products such as hot pot meatballs, beef patties, etc., have a short shelf life, and some don't even require preservatives.
6.Room temperature cooking packages are mostly used in takeaway and other catering enterprises, as well as convenience foods such as self-heating hot pot and lo-mei, and follow different implementation standards and regulations according to different types and regions, with a wide range of categories.
As processed foods, they all need to comply with national requirements for packaging and labeling (e.g. GB7718, GB28050), production license and hygienic specifications (GB14881), standard for the use of raw materials and additives (GB2760) ......
In other words,As long as it is a compliant food purchased through formal channels, there is no need to worry too much about the unsafe consumption
There are many categories of prefabricated dishes on the market, and there are great differences in raw materials, processing technology, formulas, etc., and the development of a unified standard applicable to all prefabricated dishes needs to fully consider the characteristics and requirements of various products, which is not an overnight task.
Driven by the industry, the State Administration for Market Regulation organized and carried out various special investigations, and released them in the fields of livestock and poultry products and meat products according to different product raw materials and processing technologyMore than 40 recommended national standards related to prefabricated dishes。In addition, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced in April 2020 that the industry standard "Convenient Dishes" (QB T 5471-2020) has been implemented in October 2020.
Nowadays,Some regions have issued relevant local standards or group standards, such as the "Prefabricated Food Product Specification" group standard led by the China Cuisine Association; Jiangsu Province "Quality Evaluation Specification for Prefabricated Dishes"; Shandong Province "General Requirements for Prefabricated Dishes (Prefabricated Dishes)"; Guangdong Province "Terminology and Classification of Prefabricated Dishes", etc.
Chia Tai Food, Flavor Fragrance, Cong Kitchen Food, etcEnterpriseActively explore and apply food traceability technologyThe product traceability code is displayed on the packaging, and you can understand the whole process from agricultural products to the table by scanning it, which is a very good start.
Pre-made dishes Take-out meal kits- Of course not
There are many categories of prefabricated dishes, which are divided into ready-to-eat, ready-to-heat, ready-to-cook, and ready-to-match according to the way of eating; According to the degree of processing, it can be divided into net vegetables (special clean vegetables, first-class clean vegetables, second-class clean vegetables, ** clean vegetables), semi-finished dishes, and finished dishes.
Prepared foods such as raw cut meat, quick-frozen rice noodles, net vegetables, and surimi have always played an important role in B-end restaurant companies, and related enterprises have been very mature. At present, consumers' resistance to pre-made dishes is mainly aimed at takeaway cooking kits.
This kind of room temperature cooking package is convenient and fast, ready to eat, and some high-oil, high-salt, and heavy-tasting cooking packages have health risks when eaten for a long timeIn essence, it is an extension of the quality of ingredients, the combination and seasoning of ingredients, and the flow of non-compliant food into the market
If consumers have concerns, they can carefully choose according to their needs and tastes, with reference to food labels and manufacturers, such as "Kaixiaozao" under Uni-President, "Gu Yan" of Wellcome Food, "Xinmeixiang", the first-class merchant of Master Kong and Mr. Li's beef noodles, as well as cutting-edge brands such as steaming and stew, and food and agriculture star kitchen, which are currently popular choices. Catering businesses also need to take into account factors such as quality, the reputation of the best business, and their own cooking and service capabilities when choosing to use cooking packages, so as to ensure the quality and taste of the food provided to customers, and it is also urgent to strengthen the supervision of individual takeaway catering households in procurement, processing and other links.
Compared with the voice of the industry, the rendering of self-** is always more eye-catching, "the takeaway you eat may have been made a year ago", "the cost is 3 yuan, 5 minutes to eat" and other appalling traffic content makes the prefabricated dishes grow in the scolding and aggravateThe wrong stereotype that "pre-made dishes are unhealthy".
Does pre-made food spoil the health and deliciousness of ingredients? - Not exactly
Prefabricated dishes are not necessarily unable to restore the health and deliciousness of cooking, it depends on the quality of prefabricated dishes, production technology and personal cooking methods, taking aquatic products as an example, when we buy a fresh fish in the vegetable field, the stall owner needs to remove the scales and gutts before handing it over to you, cleaning the process, and some will add marinated seasonings, if these processes are carried out in batches in the ** kitchen factory, it has become a kind of aquatic prefabricated dishes.
From this point of view, we can compare many kinds"Pre-made dishes" is understood as "pre-prepared dishes"., wash and cut fresh vegetables in advance, and then provide seasoning packages according to the characteristic taste, in this food industry processing process that requires standardized SOPProcess, timeliness, formula, preservation process, cold chain transportation, etc. ensure product quality and flavor
The prefabrication and industrialization of dishes provide convenient and fast cooking optionsSome high-quality pre-made dishes can restore the health and deliciousness of cooking, the key is to choose pre-made food products that are trusted and reliable by the brand, and make appropriate cooking adjustments according to individual tastes and needs
Not all pre-made dishesAll rely on preservatives as the main means of preservation
The food preservation and preservative technology continues to improve, and modern food processing technologies such as temperature control, controlled atmosphere, moisturizing, sterilization, and insect resistance are widely usedInstant delivery of clean vegetables and fresh meat, frozen vegetables and meats, freeze-dried foods (such as dried seafood products), smoked salted foods, as well as some canned foods, quick-frozen conditioning products (such as quick-frozen rice noodles), etcCommon prefabricated dishes, through sterilization treatment, aseptic operation to eliminate pollution sources, low-temperature freezing environment processing and storage, optimization of packaging processes (vacuum packaging, modified atmosphere preservation, ultra-high pressure technology, application of high barrier materials, etc.) and other physical preservation methods to achieve industrial large-scale preservationNo reliance or even no preservatives for freshness
In addition,Food additives ≠ preservatives。The state has clear regulations on the type and dosage of additives, more than 2,000 kinds of food additives are indispensable in food processing, and should not be "demonized".
"Pre-made dishes come to campus".It has landed in many places
Campus meals and student meals are a type of group meals, which are characterized by a large number of first-class, unified management and standardized services, and many primary and secondary schools cooperate with enterprises to upgrade smart canteens, such as a university in Henan Province using Xiyun Information & Alibaba Cloud to launch the "smart group meal" solution, face payment, rich dishes, and the whole meal only takes 20 minutes.
Student meals are special, and we can find that a considerable number of people are open to "pre-made dishes on campus". In fact, on the webMany people who oppose "prefabricated dishes on campus" are not opposed to opposing the introduction of pre-made dishes such as eggs and milk, bakery products, and cut fruits and vegetables into the campus. One of the key points is the pre-made dishes that come to campusWhether it can be guaranteed to be safe, healthy, nutritious and cost-effective
If strict SOP standards can be implemented, the purchase customs, standardized processing and finished product acceptance can be carried out, the responsibility system of the head chef, accompanying leaders and management personnel can be improved, and the whole link of standardized and transparent management can be realized, which may be more reassuring than the back kitchen of a small workshop-style canteen.
The food industry is a basic industry that guarantees people's lives.
The integration of primary, secondary and tertiary industries, the realization of intensive production, the promotion of agricultural process and food safety level and other requirements of the times, make the prefabricated food industry an important development direction in the field of catering.
The high dietary requirements of Chinese, the diversification and large differences of Chinese dishes, make the road to pre-made dishes not as smooth as expected to gain the recognition of individual consumers. The demand for takeaway platforms and the catalysis of the catering market during the epidemic have given more imagination to the prefabricated food industry, and all kinds of follow-ups, ridicule, and doubts have also poured in.
In China, the B-end ** chain and consumer market of prefabricated dishes are relatively mature, and the share of B:C is 8:2. I contributed to the market share of pre-made dishesLess than 2 percent of the C-end market(such as supermarkets, community stores, online platforms, families & individual consumers) has unlimited potential in the futureIncremental market
For the public, understanding and rationally choosing prefabricated dishes, and resolutely resisting prefabricated dishes, are more differences in consumer cognition and habits, that is"Mind" is difficult to change in a short period of time because of the company's product innovation and positive publicity, changing the user's mind and cultivating the consumer market is indeed a challenging goal that requires time, effort and continuous influence
The market is changing day by day, and everything is not yet named. We should not take madness as the norm, care more about the market and products, and think clearly.
*: Silphi, Internet.
Editor: Silphi Activities Department.