Food production industry becoming more digitalized

China's consumption upgrading and the trend of cross-border management have create more challenges to ensure food safety, a white paper showed.

For Connell Zhang, executive vice-president and president of Greater China for Ecolab, the country's catering industry has shown increasing awareness of food safety.

According to a white paper co-released by US health and hygiene giant Ecolab, with support from global auditing and consulting firm Deloitte, the country's food production industry is becoming increasingly digitalized as technology involves the whole industrial chain.

China is now the world's second largest catering market after the United States, with total revenue topping 4.2 trillion yuan ($626.5 billion) last year. And industrial data showed that China's food industry is in the midst of a transition towards health and safety.

The rate of failed products by food safety regulators' random checks decreased from 5.3 percent in 2014 to 2.4 percent in 2018, due to coordinated efforts from all stakeholders, said Wang Tiehan, food safety director with the State Administration for Market Regulation.

In 2018, consumption contributed 76.2 percent to the economic growth. As an important indicator, food expenditures accounted for 28.4 percent of total consumer spending, and service consumption expenditures accounted for nearly 50 percent, according to the white paper.

Wang Jiaqi contributed to this story