The Pre-Made Food Fight

Asingle complaint froma tech entrepreneurabouta popular restaurant chain has revived the debate over pre-made food一a development that could usher in sweeping changes to the industry 一次吐槽引發預制菜熱議：揭示認知與現實落差，推動行業透明合規

W henJia Guolong，founder ofXibei， apopularrestaurant chain known for its northwestern Chinese cuisine， announced that he would open the kitchens of the chain's 37O-plus outlets in China so that consumers could inspect them—and verify his earlier claim that they do not use yuzhicai（預制菜），orpre-made dishes-he likely did not expect the exact opposite effect.

Taking Jia up on his offer， reporters and visitors livestreamed their kitchen tours， discovering packaged frozen items such as marinated fish，meat，and soup with shelflives ofup to two years.The revelations further fueled publicbacklashagainsttherestaurantand intensified thedebate over transparencyin the sector， including everything from the definition of \"fresh”to pricing and food safety.

The backlash was first ignitedbyLuo Yonghao，founderoftechcompanySmartisan and top livestreamerof e-commerceplatform Jiao GePengyou （\"MakeaFriend\"）.After dining ata Xibei restaurant in early September， the celebrity entrepreneur criticized it on the microblogging platform Weibo，for selling “almostall pre-made，and expensive， dishes，and urged that national rules be established to require clear labeling.

Several rounds of heated exchangesbetween himandJiafollowed online.Jia immediately deemedLuo'saccusationas“defamatory”and vowed to sue.“Our stores do not serve pre-made dishes，in accordance with national regulations，\" JiainsistedinaninterviewwithShanghai-based media The Paper， emphasizing the distinction between“pre-processed food\"and\"pre-made dishes.”For example，he said，preparing lamb chops at a central kitchen to be cooked at restaurantsis“entirelydifferent” frompre-cooked frozen meals that only require heating

Many industry insiders supported Jia's claim，referencinga2024 governmentnotice thatofficially defined yuzhicaias industrially pre-processed，preservative-freemealsmade from edible agricultural products，optionally seasoned，and requiring heating or cooking before consumption.The category explicitly excludes frozenstaple foodslikeflour-orrice-based productsand instantmeals，aswellascleaned and prepped ready-to-use ingredients， semifinished foods，and finished foods prepared at central kitchens.

Asfor frozen food items，Xibei’s employees told SouthernWeeklythatthequick-freezing of meat such as mutton“can preserve moisture and flavor to the maximum extent，allowing fora longer shelf life，”while freezing vegetables can‘eliminate insect eggs， ensure a stable year-round supply， and lock in freshness.\"

Xibeistores haveseenadeclineincustomersamid heateddebatesoverpre-madefoodfollowing Luo'scomplaints （VCG）

However， these guidelines contrast with public perceptionsofpre-prepared foodand traditional notionsof fresh，healthyingredients，asseenin netizens'complaints and the drop in customers at Xibei following the controversy. The falloutalso highlights industry-wide stakes：A 2022 report found that yuzhicai—from prepped ingredients tofinished dishes—nowhasamarketvalue of over 30o billion yuan.About 85 percent of these productsare supplied to restaurants，making up 8C percent of the menus at major brands such as Rea Kungfuand Xibei.

While more consumers have embraced preprepared food for its reliable flavor， convenience， and lower price—driving sales on e-commerce platformslike，JD.comand Taobao-the majorityremaincautious， theirtrust eroded by repeated foodscandalsandalackofregulations and transparencyin the industry.For instance， thisSeptember， several parents in Shanghai complained that the shrimp in their children's canteen smelled odd.Soon，netizens reported that the same lunch provider was serving frozen beef andlambwithan18-monthshelflifetoanother school ofover7，OoO studentsviaacentralkitchen. The caseisunder investigation.

Luo'scomplaintsaboutXibei's “expensive\" pre-made meals—averagingaround 85 yuan per person，nearly 5O percent higher than other northwestern-specialtyrestaurants，accordingto catering industryplatform Canyin88—and his call for consumers' right to know whether premadefoodisused，haverevivedsimilardemands. Several state media outlets， including People's Dailyand Xinhua Net， endorsed such calls in recent editorials.In particular，Luo highlighted fast food chain Home Original Chicken—which labelsdishesfromacentralkitchenand those freshlycooked on site—asamodel for other restaurantbrandsto learn from.

FivedaysafterLuo'sinitial post，Xibei issued anapology，announcing that eight of their menu itemswould be freshly prepared on site rather than frozen and reheated.It also pledged to work with suppliers to safeguard safety and shorten the shelf life of frozen items.While many restaurants have started livestreaming their kitchens to show food is freshlymade，others，suchashotpot chain Haidilao and Jiangnan cuisine chain Green Tea， have quietly removed signs claiming“no yuzhicai and begun labeling dishes.In late September， the authorities also announced plans to draft rules for pre-made meals， including improved labeling standards.

After the announcement，Luo admitted on Weibo thathedid notanticipate the‘butterfly effect”of his complaints，but did welcome one netizen's proposal to nominate him for this year's “ManatHis Best”award in Esquire magazine. ?corner