The official certification scope for “Cantonese Cuisine” will continue to expand. Following large-scale catering establishments and pre-packaged food, the Tea market category will also be included in the new certification track. On July 31st, the Guangzhou Municipal Market Supervision and Administration Bureau's official website released an announcement seeking public opinion on the draft document “Technical Specifications for Evaluation and Certification (Tea Market Catering Services) of ‘Cantonese Cuisine'” and other related documents.
Strict Evaluation and Certification Standards Persist
In January of this year, the first batch of “Cantonese Cuisine” certifications were awarded, with 15 restaurants and relevant products from three food manufacturing enterprises making the list. Now, the popular tea market is also set to receive “Cantonese Cuisine” certification. Guangzhou's morning Tea culture has a long history. Who will earn the prestigious “Cantonese Cuisine” title will heavily depend on the formulation of certification standards and the fairness and authority of the certification process.
Journalists analyzing the draft found that the certification standards remain stringent. According to the document, the “Cantonese Cuisine” tea market category certification adopts a third-party certification model, with certified institutions approved by the State Administration for Market Regulation conducting impartial, authoritative, and professional evaluations. The certification places significant emphasis on market feedback and consumer comprehensive evaluations. It uses big data from third-party platforms and government complaint platforms (12345 and 12315) for a scientifically weighted statistical analysis, highlighting consumers' leading role in guiding consumption under the “Cantonese Cuisine” brand. Food safety is also a key component, with the standards emphasizing a risk management approach and PDCA continuous improvement management system as a support mechanism.
It is understood that the “Cantonese Cuisine” certification for the tea market category does not conflict with the catering service category, allowing restaurants to participate in both categories simultaneously. In terms of scoring frameworks, the “Cantonese Cuisine” certification for the tea market category has a total score of 1,000 points, with 600 points allocated for market feedback and consumer comprehensive evaluation, 200 points for food safety management, and 200 points for social responsibility and brand building.
Notably, within social responsibility and brand building, there is a “distinctive service” indicator worth 100 points, emphasizing the standard of “emphasizing heritage and promoting culture.” For example, it sets a “tea service feature evaluation” standard. During the “tea opening” evaluation, service staff should undergo relevant skill training and be proficient in the tea opening procedures; they should have a deep understanding of the cultural background of the tea market and be able to accurately apply it; they should introduce tea varieties and perform the tea opening according to the process of warming tea cups and handling tea leaves, etc.
Furthermore, the certification standards also require clear labeling for the “tea” used in morning tea. Whether it is bulk tea or small packets, they must be labeled with the name of the tea, net content, name and address of the producer, contact information, etc. Some consumers have reported that certain restaurants provide small packets of tea with only the name of the tea and no other information. According to the evaluation criteria, participating restaurants would not receive corresponding scores in such cases. The draft also mentions that if customers bring their own tea, the restaurant should provide tea service at the corresponding level according to the tea service fee. Restaurants providing distinctive tea utensils can also receive certain points.
Regarding the issue of “on-site processing and preparation” of tea dishes that consumers are concerned about, the standards also address this. Various dim sum, porridge, and dishes should all be prepared on-site, including ready-to-eat foods (which are products that have been washed, cut, etc., and may or may not be accompanied by condiments) and ready-to-cook foods (which have undergone preliminary processing of the main ingredients and may or may not be accompanied by condiments, and after cooking, can be consumed). If ready-to-eat foods (which have undergone sterilization and can be eaten directly after being opened) or ready-to-heat foods (which do not require further processing and can be consumed after simple reheating) are used, they should be clearly indicated on the menu, self-service ordering app, or mini-program, along with the product name and the name of the producing enterprise.
Experts Praise Distinctive Service Indicator
Cheng Gang, a representative of the Guangzhou Municipal People's Congress and Secretary-General of the Guangdong Catering Association, believes that the certification standards proposed for public consultation have two innovative aspects: highlighting cultural characteristics and operationalizing food safety.
“Currently, diners not only focus on dishes but also increasingly value cultural experiences,” he believes. He considers the allocation of weights between market feedback and consumer comprehensive evaluations and distinctive services in the draft to be reasonable. The former enables certified restaurants to gain widespread recognition among consumers, triggering word-of-mouth promotion, and enhances social supervision over businesses, encouraging them to further improve service quality. The latter provides direction for upgrading tea market catering enterprises.
“Guangzhou's morning tea tradition is long-standing. Today, some businesses, due to cost pressures, have gradually lost cultural elements like tea opening,” Cheng Gang notes. “The distinctive service indicators stand out for mentioning several norms related to tea, such as clear pricing for tea service fees, tea selection, and tea opening rituals, which can encourage businesses to preserve and inherit traditional culture.”
In terms of food safety, he observes that the certification standards propose numerous scoring details regarding the labeling of tea quality information, procurement, storage, and tea dish preparation. “The new certification standards, designed under the leadership of the market supervision bureau, include more detailed and rich scoring criteria for food safety, making them easily understandable for businesses to follow. These criteria can effectively control the quality of tea and tea dishes from a food safety perspective, guiding businesses to establish traceable food security systems, which is very meaningful.”
The White Swan Hotel states that the formulation of certification standards is significant for enhancing the transparency of catering services. By clearly indicating the use of ready-to-heat or ready-to-eat foods, customers can better understand the processing methods and freshness of the food, enabling them to make choices that align with their expectations. This also helps build trust between customers and the restaurant.
Panxi Restaurant also believes that the standards emphasize the need to clearly label “ready-to-heat” and “ready-to-eat” foods, setting benchmarks for the standardized development of the food industry. Regarding the standard on “anti-food waste measures,” which mentions “free packing service,” Panxi Restaurant suggests distinguishing between two scenarios: one where the restaurant provides simple packing tools for free, and another where the restaurant offers customized packing tools for customers to choose from.