Standards for precooked food to heat up industry

Dalian in Liaoning province has established a list of designated standards to build itself into China's ready-to-cook seafood capital.

The city's administration for market regulation offered the first precooked food production license to a company on March 31 after its products met these strict standards.

"With authoritative standards, it will effectively control food safety risks in the emerging food sector," said Deng Entang, president of the Dalian Premade-food Industry Association.

"It is a good opportunity for upgrading with higher standards and specifications," Deng said.

In recent years, quick-frozen and semi-cooked food with prepared ingredients have been gaining momentum domestically for their convenience, and have created an emerging sector with significant potential.

Since last year, Guangdong, Sichuan, Zhejiang and other provinces and cities have issued policy guidances and standards regarding raw materials, processing, distribution, packaging and technical terms.

Deng believes that Dalian, a hub for international shipping, logistics and regional finance in Northeast Asia, has the strength to lead the country in the sector.

"Dalian is the origin and main producing area of high-quality seafood such as sea cucumber, abalone, sea urchin, oyster and wakame. It is also the largest seafood distribution center in Northeast Asia, with strong cold-chain processing, storage and transportation capacity," he said.

Deng, who is also president of Dalian Rich Group, said the company is developing more ready-to-eat seafood products including turning Alaska pollock into an item with annual sales exceeding 100 million yuan ($14.5 million).

According to Zhu Zanbing, deputy director of the Dalian Administration for Market Regulation, there are more than 750 aquatic processing enterprises in Dalian, about 70 percent of which are able to produce precooked food.

Customs data showed that Dalian Customs supervised the export of 18,800 metric tons of precooked aquatic dishes in the first two months of this year alone.

The Dalian Premade-food Industry Association, which has more than 100 members, held its inaugural meeting on Feb 28.

"Some enterprises have gained a lot of valuable experience in both domestic and international markets. The association will help accelerate industrial integration and better growth," said Deng.

"We might incubate several influential companies in the next few years," he added.