An interesting response to the coming crisis in April 2021 was given by the Chinese government by adopting an as yet unparalleled law against food waste. Thirty-two articles of this law impose a number of unusual restrictions and penalties on the food retail and restaurant business. For example, video bloggers are prohibited from overeating on camera, and restaurants are allowed to charge customers extra for uneaten food. Given that the European Union has been talking for years about plans to systematically limit food waste, an analogue of the Chinese law or its "lighter" version may soon appear in many countries.
"The state advocates a civilized, healthy, resource-efficient and environmentally friendly mode of consumption, as well as a simple, moderate, green and low-carbon lifestyle," Article 3 of the law states. What prevents this way of consumption, lifestyle and food security is food waste, by which is meant "the unsustainable use of food." China has decided to overcome this obstacle by quite radical and non-trivial measures.
Mukbang Under Prohibition
The main victims of the Food Waste Control Act are Chinese bloggers who make food and drink videos. This video format, which originated in South Korea, is known here and in the West as "mukbang," in which bloggers usually surprise viewers by eating large quantities of food or dishes. In China and Asia, such videos garner millions of views, and bloggers even sign advertising contracts with the restaurants, retail chains and brands whose products they eat on camera.
Chinese lawmakers believe that bloggers most often do not finish the traditional "mukbang" huge portions, but throw the leftovers away behind the scenes and thus create unnecessary waste for the entertainment of viewers. As a result, authors of such videos published on the Internet face a fine of 10,000 yuan (more than $1,500) and the removal of the video itself. It is not clear how the regulatory authorities will determine whether a blogger is overeating or not, but popular videos of this format have already been deleted in the last month in the Chinese social network TikTok.
TV channels and media companies face a more significant fine of 100,000 yuan ($16,000) for disseminating such information. By the way, last month, the media drew attention to the talent show of Beijing video platform IQiyi, which violated this rule. The audience had to buy milk of the certain brand and scan QR codes from the bottles to support their favorite participant. Subsequently the milk was poured into the sewerage, which was recorded on video. As a result the show was temporarily suspended and its creators publicly apologized for pointless waste of products.
If you don't finish, you pay.
Another section of the Food Waste Control Act allows food service establishments to charge customers extra fees if they leave a lot of under-eaten food. The main stipulation for cafes and restaurants is to warn customers about the amount of the food waste disposal fee before placing an order.
At the same time, if restaurants regularly produce large amounts of food waste (the norm is not defined), they face a fine of 50,000 yuan ($7800). And if eating establishments mislead consumers into ordering more food (what form of misleading is not specified), they will be fined 10,000 yuan ($1,500).
The law also requires banquet organizers and diners to order the right amount of food while eating out (how to calculate is unknown). No penalty has yet been named for violating this rule. It is noteworthy that in Chinese tradition it has always been customary to order more food to demonstrate one's wealth and hospitality. Now this tradition, in all likelihood, will be banned.
Some Chinese restaurants have already found ingenious solutions to comply with the new law. One restaurant in the city of Changsha, for example, has installed scales at the entrance to advise customers on portion sizes based on their weight.
Rules for stores
The fight against food waste has also touched retailers. So, according to Article 12, retail chains must strenuously monitor the shelf life of products, glue special labels on goods that will inform about the expiration date, and display such goods in a prominent place on the shelves. In addition, stores will be fined (the amount of the fine has not yet been determined, most likely the same as restaurants) for excessive waste.
Chinese regulators have already issued the first warning to a grocery store in the city of Nanjing, which regularly threw away unexpired baked goods due to their poor appearance. The store owner promised to donate leftover baked goods to the needy.
Note that other Asian countries are taking similar steps to combat food waste. For example, the government of Singapore recently required commercial and industrial companies to report how much food waste they produce and share for processing. South Korea and Japan are moving in the same direction. It is possible that in a few years these countries, based on the positive or negative experience of China, will formulate their own rules to combat the unsustainable use of products.