China answers food waste curb call with smaller portions for diners

Chinese cities and provinces respond to President Xi Jinping’s statement decrying the problem with a range of measures

Economic climate means some customers have been tightening their belts before new rules are in place

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Chinese President Xi Jinping has targeted “shocking” food waste. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 5:13pm, 12 Aug 2020Updated: 8:56pm, 12 Aug 2020

Several Chinese cities and provinces are introducing detailed measures to curb food consumption, following President Xi Jinping’s call on Tuesday for an end to the country’s “shocking and distressing” problem of food waste.

Since last year, the leadership has repeatedly stressed the importance of food security and assured the public the nation is producing enough to feed its 1.4 billion people. This year, floods have ravaged China’s traditional rice production areas and the coronavirus pandemic has disrupted food supply chains.

According to state news agency Xinhua, Xi said that despite several years of bumper harvests the country needed to “maintain a sense of crisis about food security, especially amid the fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic”.

The Wuhan Catering Association – in the central Chinese city where the coronavirus first emerged – responded with an “N-1” ordering mode for restaurants in which a group of 10 diners order for nine people, only adding more later if required. It is common in China for all dishes to be shared by the table.

People dining in groups of two or three should be offered half portions or smaller shares and all restaurants should have takeaway boxes so diners can take their leftovers home, according to a notice from the association.

As well as measures designed to reduce food waste, the association said restaurants should provide serving cutlery, in addition to individual chopsticks and spoons, to avoid cross-infections – a practice that has been promoted across China since the emergence of Covid-19.