BEIJING: With online food orders taking off in recent years, China’s food delivery platforms and the restaurant industry are taking measures to reduce food waste.
As of June, the number of people who order food online in China was 535 million, an increase of 13.7 million compared with December last year, according to the 52nd Statistical Report on China’s Internet Development released by the China Internet Network Information Center.
A survey conducted by the School of Environment at Tsinghua University, China Chain-Store and Franchise Association, and food delivery platform Meituan shows that each takeaway user squanders an average of 57.5 grams of food with each order. Considering China’s huge food delivery market, that’s a serious problem.
The waste is partly a result of discounts for minimum spending, which encourage people to order more than they can consume, Legal Daily reported.
In June, the State Administration for Market Regulation and the Ministry of Commerce released guidelines to prevent takeaway food waste, which say food delivery platforms should encourage restaurant owners to provide smaller portions. It also orders platforms to optimize discounts for minimum spending mechanisms by excluding staple food. –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
