---
title: "Prepared Dishes on the Hot Seat"
description: "Prepared dishes have sparked controversy again. Since the start of the school year in September, the topic of 'prepared dishes entering campuses' has drawn widespread attention. The issue began when a central kitchen in Jiangxi delivered prepared dishes to local public kindergartens, leading to poor food quality, taste, and delivery delays, causing some students to fall ill and triggering parental outrage and complaints. This has fueled public concerns about campus food safety and centralized meal distribution, with prepared dishes now under intense scrutiny."
author: "定焦团队"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
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published: "2023-10-05"
language: "en"
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---

# Prepared Dishes on the Hot Seat

> Prepared dishes have sparked controversy again. Since the start of the school year in September, the topic of 'prepared dishes entering campuses' has drawn widespread attention. The issue began when a central kitchen in Jiangxi delivered prepared dishes to local public kindergartens, leading to poor food quality, taste, and delivery delays, causing some students to fall ill and triggering parental outrage and complaints. This has fueled public concerns about campus food safety and centralized meal distribution, with prepared dishes now under intense scrutiny.

Prepared dishes have sparked controversy again.
Since the start of the school year in September, the topic of 'prepared dishes entering campuses' has drawn widespread attention. According to media reports, the issue began when a central kitchen in a certain area of Jiangxi delivered prepared dishes to local public kindergartens. Due to poor food quality, bad taste, and untimely delivery, some students experienced physical discomfort, leading to parental outrage and complaints.
Suddenly, public concerns about campus food safety and centralized meal distribution began to spread across multiple regions. At the same time, prepared dishes have become the proverbial 'ants on a hot pot.'
The topic 'Boycott prepared dishes entering campuses' has topped trending lists on multiple online platforms. Although education departments in many regions have responded that they do not use prepared dishes, some parents have spontaneously formed 'boycott prepared dishes' communication groups.
Some parents argue that prepared dishes can be eaten but are not suitable for everyone, and long-term consumption could harm students' health. Other parents say that prepared dishes can be used, but the process must be transparent and subject to public oversight, with parents given the freedom to choose.
Many people view prepared dishes as a way to 'rip off consumers' or as highly profitable, but objectively speaking, this does not represent the full picture of this emerging industry. What worries industry practitioners even more is that as prepared dishes penetrate more scenarios, some people acknowledge that they are an inevitable product of food industrialization and large-scale production, and that food safety should be viewed scientifically, yet they still do not support prepared dishes.
These consumers worry that when prepared dishes enter restaurants of all sizes and even campuses, they diminish the traditional Chinese cooking values of fresh stir-frying and 'wok hei' (the breath of the wok), as well as those irreplaceable flavors etched in our memories...
We might use this 'boycott prepared dishes entering campuses' incident to glimpse the industry's contradictions and future direction.
**Why are prepared dishes unpopular?**
If you ask what has been highly controversial yet very popular in the past two years, prepared dishes would likely be on the list.
First, let's clarify what prepared dishes are. As the name suggests, they are pre-made dishes, at least semi-finished. Broadly, prepared dishes can be classified by processing method into ready-to-eat, ready-to-heat, ready-to-cook, and ready-to-prepare. These four types have increasing cold chain requirements, shorter shelf life, higher freshness, and lower current industrialization levels, respectively.
Eight-treasure porridge, which can be eaten directly after opening, is a ready-to-eat dish; items like self-heating hot pot that need to be heated in a microwave or with water are ready-to-heat; frozen fried chicken or semi-finished boiled fish that require simple cooking are ready-to-cook; and portioned semi-finished products like fish fillets or small meat pieces are ready-to-prepare.
From the 'prepared dishes entering campuses' controversy, the reason parents are 'boycotting' is that they believe **prepared dishes are unsafe, unhealthy, and contain many additives**, and that long-term consumption could affect the growth, development, and health of underage students.
These points are also the general impression most people have of prepared dishes. Let's examine whether these criticisms are justified.
Many parents worry about the **food safety** of prepared dishes. Liu Du, a prepared dish industry practitioner, says such concerns are not unfounded.
The prepared dish industry currently has no entry threshold, and companies operate under industry and group standards. This new industry needs a unified national mandatory standard, including national food safety standards and national production standards, to regulate companies and dispel market doubts.
Li Sheng, director and chief partner of Beijing Zhipu Law Firm, says that for prepared dishes to enter campuses, two conditions must be met: nutritional value and food safety. 'As long as they comply with relevant regulations and standards, there is no need to over-worry about the safety of prepared dishes, but safety does not necessarily mean health. Minors are a special group, and their food safety should be treated with more caution than that of ordinary adults,' he added.
Whether they are healthy is one of the common doubts people have about prepared dishes. Many people have seen videos of cooking packs online and believe that prepared dishes are not fresh, and that unscrupulous merchants add large amounts of additives to preserve ingredients longer.
Qi Nan, a food industry practitioner, says that with current technology, **preserving ingredient freshness is not a challenge**. Reputable manufacturers use liquid nitrogen freezing technology to preserve ingredients, which is widely used in the industry and cost-controllable.
He added that many prepared dishes on the market are heavily seasoned, with high oil and salt, and mediocre ingredients, so it is not unfair for consumers to have an unhealthy impression of prepared dishes.
Among the voices boycotting 'prepared dishes entering campuses,' there is another very representative group. **They do not oppose prepared dishes per se, but rather the use of prepared dishes without informing consumers.**
Zhu Yun, a consumer with a keen interest in food, says, 'Rather than ordering takeout and getting cooking packs, I'd rather buy prepared dishes myself; they offer better value for money.' Her biggest concern is going to a high-end restaurant, paying for freshly cooked dishes, and getting the same product as a budget restaurant.
Whether it's the so-called 'prepared dishes entering campuses,' or ordering takeout, or dining in restaurants, consumers want the right to know and the right to choose. Qi Nan told the author that, for example, a system should be established where restaurants disclose the use of prepared dishes, indicating which dishes are made from semi-finished products and which supplier they come from, and which dishes are freshly cooked. Restaurants can differentiate by price, allowing consumers to make their own choices.
Li Sheng says that according to the Consumer Rights Protection Law, if school cafeterias use prepared dishes, they should fulfill their obligation to clearly indicate and remind students and parents, who can choose whether to consume or not. Otherwise, it may infringe on consumers' right to know and choose. Passing off prepared dishes as freshly cooked dishes could also constitute false advertising and consumer fraud.
**Are prepared dishes everywhere?**
Many people are alarmed by prepared dishes because they believe that in just a few years, they have penetrated restaurants, campuses, and even homes, making them unavoidable. Is this really the case?
Regarding campus channels, Liu Du says there is currently no data showing that prepared dishes have entered campuses in large quantities. He reveals that some prepared dish companies focusing on group meals are indeed exploring campus channels, but they face significant resistance because public opinion is unfavorable toward prepared dishes.
Given this consumer perception, the penetration of prepared dishes into household scenarios will also take time. However, since the pandemic, the industry has been quite active in the C-end (referring to household consumers), giving many consumers the impression that 'prepared dishes are everywhere.'
Joining the C-end prepared dish wave are professional prepared dish companies like Weizhixiang, aquatic product companies like Delisi, traditional frozen food companies like Sanquan and Synear, restaurant chains closest to consumers like Haidilao and Xibei, retail players like Hema, Yonghui, and Meituan Maicai, as well as a large number of startups.
But what really makes many people 'dislike' prepared dishes is the high penetration rate in the B-end. As Zhu Yun said, **as a consumer, if you don't accept prepared dishes for now, you can choose not to buy them, but when ordering takeout or dining out, you can hardly avoid them.**
According to some institutions, the market space for prepared dishes in China in 2023 is about 800 billion yuan, with C-end accounting for 20% and B-end 80%, mainly in group meals, formal dining, and rural banquet channels.
Since the pandemic, prepared dishes have become more common in B-end catering. The reason is not hard to understand. Liu Yizhuo, a catering practitioner, analyzes that first, some shopping malls do not allow open-flame cooking, so many restaurants have to use prepared dishes; second, and most importantly, using prepared dishes reduces operational pressure.
Liu Yizhuo has learned from the industry chain that 70% to 80% of restaurants are using prepared dishes, and 90% of chain restaurants use them to varying degrees. For example, some restaurants use pre-cut meat slices and cleaned vegetables, while others use deeply processed products that are already seasoned.
**It's not just small restaurants with limited manpower that are keen on prepared dishes; in fact, many large B-end restaurants have always been major users of prepared dishes.** Their prepared dishes mainly come from central kitchens or professional prepared dish companies. For example, Qianwei Central Kitchen's clients include Wallace, KFC, Zhen Gongfu, Jiumaojiu, Haidilao, and Lao Xiang Ji; Delisi's clients include Haidilao and Zhengxin Chicken Chop.
It should be noted that professional prepared dish companies like Qianwei Central Kitchen also supply small B-end clients through distributor channels.
For B-end catering, which was severely hit during the pandemic, whether it's street-side small shops or top chains, using prepared dishes is a more cost-effective deal, or even an inevitable choice in natural selection.
Liu Yizhuo says that in first- and second-tier cities, restaurant rent pressure is high. If everything is freshly cooked, labor and ingredient costs are also high. If some dishes use prepared dishes, fewer chefs are needed, and because prepared dishes are faster to prepare, takeout efficiency and dine-in table turnover rates can double.
More than one interviewee mentioned that **for cost reduction, supply stability, and taste standardization, B-end catering's demand for prepared dishes will only become more urgent.**
**Can prepared dishes be redeemed?**
Whether we admit it or not, today it is hard to avoid prepared dishes. In Qi Nan's view, this unstoppable trend makes it even harder for prepared dishes to 'clear their name.'
**Interestingly, Chinese-style prepared dishes, as seen by practitioners and consumers, are two sides of the same coin.**
For Pan Pan, a prepared dish entrepreneur, consumers don't need to panic at the mention of prepared dishes. They shouldn't be dismissed outright. The cooking packs exposed online and the prepared dishes used by chain brands are very different. Most chain restaurant products have guaranteed quality, safety, taste, and nutrition.
Regarding food safety, multiple practitioners say that theoretically, prepared dishes from big brands are safer than freshly cooked dishes in small restaurants.
But as the 'prepared dishes entering campuses' uproar shows, these promotions and 'explanations' have not been fully accepted by consumers.
Liu Du laments that many people know that KFC and McDonald's also use prepared dishes (specifically ready-to-cook dishes), but Chinese-style prepared dishes seem to attract more criticism.
**The direct reason is that the probability of encountering 'bad-tasting' prepared dishes is too high.**
This is because C-end prepared dishes were blown up by the pandemic, with many entrants and a market size approaching one trillion yuan, but the industry is highly fragmented. Many small companies lack the R&D capability for dishes and cold chain logistics, making it hard to guarantee taste.
As mentioned earlier, freshness preservation is no longer a problem, but what determines a dish's taste is the company's R&D capability—that is, how much money they are willing to invest in flavor restoration. Chinese cuisine has eight major culinary traditions, each requiring different R&D capabilities, raw materials, processes, and production equipment, demanding high capital investment.
To ensure taste, a prepared dish also requires full cold chain transportation. However, China's cold chain logistics infrastructure is relatively underdeveloped, and companies have to pay higher cold chain logistics costs. A logistics industry insider reveals that many companies lack the capability to use full cold chain, and many unscrupulous companies cut corners, resulting in prepared dishes with unguaranteed taste.
**Another objective reason that must be mentioned is that C-end prepared dishes have a short development history, the industry needs time to explore, and market education is a long-term task.**
Although restaurants have been using prepared dishes for a long time, they have only entered the C-end market for about three years. A catering supplier says that before the pandemic, some companies entered the C-end prepared dish field, but on a small scale. It wasn't until the second half of 2020, when the pandemic boosted demand and capital began 'throwing money,' that more companies started increasing marketing investment in the C-end market, and the term 'prepared dishes' frequently appeared in public view.
But so far, prepared dishes have only entered some high-tier markets, and most people still can't distinguish what prepared dishes are. Pan Pan gives an example: some restaurants advertise that they don't use prepared dishes, which attracts diners, but in reality, many restaurants just don't use the cooking packs consumers think of, but they do use ready-to-cook or ready-to-prepare dishes.
Finally, it must be said that the prepared dish industry also faces many 'out-of-syllabus' questions.
Pan Pan says that many classic Chinese dishes have different preparation methods, even with salty and sweet variations. Taste differences and food safety risks have led to mixed public opinions about prepared dishes. Among these, there is a representative voice: 'Is it necessary to industrialize Chinese cuisine?'
From a practitioner's perspective, prepared dishes have more standardized taste, are more stable and efficient, and better adapt to today's highly urbanized society. Their accelerated penetration reflects the acceleration of China's food industrialization and restaurant chain development. 'The current mainstream audience for prepared dishes is people who want to save money and time, and they have a strong demand for high-cost-performance prepared dishes,' Pan Pan says.
But when a large number of prepared dishes fail to meet taste standards, opposition grows louder. Just as everyone has a 'mother's taste' in their hearts, our diet is not just about color, aroma, and taste, but also culture. This is the charm of Chinese cuisine, but in today's highly urbanized era, it is also a sentiment that prepared dish practitioners must consider.
Finding a balance between the vitality of food and the process of industrialization is, after all, a challenge for each of us, isn't it?
*Cover image sourced from Visual China. At the request of the interviewees, Liu Du, Qi Nan, Zhu Yun, Liu Yizhuo, and Pan Pan are pseudonyms.


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