McDonald’s over mapo tofu: Why Chinese trust Western fast food more than local ready meals
Despite embracing Western fast food chains like McDonald’s and KFC, many Chinese consumers remain wary of domestically pre-made meals. This paradox reveals deeper issues of trust, transparency, and cultural perceptions in China’s food industry. Lianhe Zaobao correspondent Sim Tze Wei explores the paradox.
The concept of “pre-made meals” is still somewhat uncertain for me and seems to be demonised in China; perhaps the term itself sounds a tad frightening.
Near my home in Beijing, there is a chain restaurant that is reasonably priced. The food tasted pretty good when I tried it, and I had thought of making it a regular dining haunt. However, a colleague made a comment that immediately changed my mind, and I have not been back since.
She said, “Those are all pre-made meals, squeezed out from plastic bags. It’s disgusting.” The mention of plastic bags and pre-made meals, all squeezed out, sounded like major food safety red flags.
Defining pre-made meals
Following the controversy of pre-made meals in schools in 2023, debates about pre-made meals in the Chinese public sphere have reignited over the recent weeks, sparked by a confrontation between the well-known influencer Luo Yonghao and the chain restaurant Xibei. Central media outlets such as People’s Daily, Xinhua News Agency and CCTV News have also joined in the debate.
Referring to Xibei, Luo posted on Weibo on 10 September saying, “It’s almost entirely pre-made meals, yet it’s so expensive.”
Luo ordered from a menu that included a serving of scrambled eggs for 43 RMB (US$6) and a Xibei gluten dish for 39 RMB — altogether 13 dishes that cost 663 RMB in total. I have not been to this restaurant, but according to my Beijing colleague, paying such prices for pre-made meals indeed seems expensive.
This prompted a strong response from Xibei founder, Jia Guolong, stating, “According to national standards, not a single dish at Xibei is pre-made.”
Reports indicated that Luo ordered from a menu that included a serving of scrambled eggs for 43 RMB (US$6) and a Xibei gluten dish for 39 RMB — altogether 13 dishes that cost 663 RMB in total. I have not been to this restaurant, but according to my Beijing colleague, paying such prices for pre-made meals indeed seems expensive.
Other than price, several questions lingered in my mind: are pre-made meals really that terrifying? Why has it become an issue in China? In an era of high industrialisation and a fast-paced lifestyle, how is it possible to not have pre-made meals when dining out? How much pre-made food am I unknowingly consuming every day?
In March last year, China’s State Administration for Market Regulation, along with multiple departments, issued a notice on strengthening the safety supervision of pre-made meals to promote the high-quality development of the industry, and for the first time, defined the scope of pre-made meals.
The notice stated that pre-made meals are pre-packaged dishes made from edible agricultural products, without preservatives, that undergo industrial preprocessing and are ready to eat after heating or cooking. Dishes made in central kitchens were excluded in the category of pre-made meals.
Take American fast-food chains such as McDonald’s and KFC for instance. Whether we call it fast food or pre-made meals, people still consume it.
What about McDonald’s and KFC?
This round of controversy reflected the disconnect among consumers, sellers and officials on what is considered pre-made meals.
Simply put, this was not about how to define pre-made meals, nor is it about the meals themselves; but rather about their preparation, management and pricing, with management being more crucial than pricing. Everyone has long formed their own definition of “pre-made meals”, and the decision on whether to consume them comes down to trust.
Take American fast-food chains such as McDonald’s and KFC for instance. Whether we call it fast food or pre-made meals, people still consume it.
According to the Chinese knowledge-sharing and Q&A platform Zhihu, although the food at chains such as KFC and McDonald’s is prepared quickly, it is not traditionally classified as pre-made meals because “the food is prepared on-site rather than pre-cooked, packaged and then stored”.
An article from Yicai in 2023, however, stated, “The McDonald’s and KFC we know use standardised semi-finished pre-made meals.”
Frozen dumplings from a well-known brand have long been a staple in my refrigerator.
I feel that anything not made from scratch can be considered pre-made meals, including McDonald’s, KFC, frozen foods, chilled foods, shelf-stable foods, canned foods and instant noodles.
Even so, as long as there is confidence in food quality management, pre-made meals are just as consumable and can be eaten with peace of mind. Frozen dumplings from a well-known brand have long been a staple in my refrigerator.
In fact, if the stability of food quality can be enhanced through the use of standardised and large-scale pre-made ingredients, and if the entire production process is well-managed with a reasonable retail price, there is nothing wrong with pre-made meals. They could even be safer and more reliable than those made in small workshops.
Working class: the pre-made meal reality
McDonald’s reputation as the world’s most famous “pre-made meal” is not due to taste, but because of its consistent quality, reasonable pricing and consumer trust. During trips abroad with friends, when there was disagreement about where to eat, McDonald’s could satisfy everyone, at least ensuring no unpleasant experiences.
Or for instance, the bento boxes and rice balls sold in Japanese convenience stores used to be the best choice for tourists for their three meals a day when the yen was strong. Consumers trust the production and management of the food, and they can judge freshness based on the expiry date on the packaging, so they eat with confidence.
Insisting on freshly made meals requires the kind of free time typically available only to retirees or affluent families.
As society continues to industrialise, pre-made meals have already become an unstoppable global dietary trend. Without pre-made meals, not only would the cost of dining out significantly increase, but who — especially among the working class — has the leisure to wait for someone to slaughter, defeather and clean a chicken, then slow-cook it over a charcoal fire just to get a bowl of chicken soup? Insisting on freshly made meals requires the kind of free time typically available only to retirees or affluent families.
Official support for pre-made meals
Pre-made meals have risen rapidly in China in recent years. According to a report by The Beijing News, pre-made meals truly became widespread on the tables of the masses during the pandemic. At the time, home isolation became the norm, and pre-made meals that required no washing or chopping and could be eaten after ten minutes of heating became a lifesaver for many families. In 2023, pre-made meals were even included in the “No. 1 central document” of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, transitioning from “emergency food” to an “industry supported by the state”.
There must be policy logic behind the official support for pre-made meals; on top of catering to societal needs, including fast-paced urban life and stay-at-home culture, it is also believed to help promote Chinese cuisine overseas.
In truth, pre-made meals are not inherently problematic; the real issue arises when there is a lack of transparency or when important information is withheld and prices do not match the quality of the experience. This mismatch ultimately erodes consumer confidence in food safety — a concern common to any system of management.
This article was first published in Lianhe Zaobao as “麦当劳是最出名的“预制菜””.
