The 2021 China Food Safety Publicity Week kicked off in Beijing on Tuesday. Over 20 governmental departments in the country have vowed to take stricter measures to ensure the quality of food, and catering companies have promised to make a greater effort in the anti-food waste campaign. 

Market regulation officials and top catering businesses also gathered at a special forum to discuss ways to improve food safety and service quality. 

Data shows that the catering business, one of the hardest-hit sectors by the COVID-19 pandemic, is seeing a steady recovery and a more diversified market. 

Ma Chaohui, head of the food safety department at the China State Administration for Market Regulation, gave a speech at the forum. Ma stressed that in the post-pandemic era, supervising departments, food companies and customers must work together.

"We encourage restaurants to open their kitchens to customers and to help us supervise their businesses," Ma said.

Meanwhile, a three-year plan has been adopted to improve the overall food quality in the catering business. The focus in 2021 will be on staff training. 

During the opening speech, Fu Longcheng, president of the China Cuisine Association, said the Association has been trying to set a standard for staff training in the catering business because food safety is at the core of people's well-being. He said the training will include sanitary checks in food purchasing, processing and service, and reducing food waste throughout the catering process.

A total of nine events will be held during the Food Safety Publicity Week, including forums on improving student nutrition and how to fully use ingredients to avoid food waste.